Somewhere in Segmentum Pacificus: After the Great Rift and Before the 4th Tyranic War

Story: Welcome to Planet X5L2589. At least that is what the Adepts called it on their star chart. It has never had a human name, but perhaps that will all change now that a proper human presence has been established.

After the Great Rift opened up, you were approached by the Rogue Trader Damian Romero. Although the rift had disrupted many of the normal trade routes, it had also opened up new areas of wilderness space, which led the Rogue Trader to the discovery of a new habitable world. The deal you struck was a simple matter. You would provide the resources to settle the world in exchange for the Rogue Trader’s safe transportation and a share of any future profits. A profitable arrangement indeed!

After an un-eventual two weeks at warp, you have arrived with the first colonists. A few small settlements have been established and are now thriving. A survey from the Adeptus Mechanicus Explorators has confirmed that the planet is rich in natural resources, it is dry but is suitable for grox farming and hydroponic vegetable farms. It has precious minerals, admantium and promethium, and a suitable enough atmosphere and gravity well to support construction of a decent sized space port. Damian prepares to depart, but first grants you and your descendants sovereign rights over this world to govern it as you wish in the name of Holy Terra, and in exchange, the Rogue Trader has the right to harvest up to 20% of the world’s net wealth up to once every ten standard Terran years.

Now, you have arrived at the newly established council chamber. Representatives from the Adeptus Terra (Minister Gallow), Ministorum (Bishop Sagius), and Adeptus Mechanicus (The Tech Priest Known As 01) are also present, though they officially have no vote in any of the official agenda items.

There are two items on the agenda.

1. Each player will pledge a portion of their great personal wealth to the planet’s development.
2. An Imperial Governor will be selected.


First the matter of pledging your wealth. Each of you has three wealth. You must decide how to invest your wealth. It can be invested as follows or saved for the future. I.E. You could pledge 1 wealth to agro, 1 to trade, and 1 to mining.

Agriculture: Grox Herding and Hydroponic vegetables

Resource Extraction: Mining and Promethium extraction

Manufacturing: The Adeptus Mechanicus will own and operate a manufactorum but will gladly repay some of the profits in return for your investment.

Trade: Sub orbital platform on top of a mountain. [Opens up trade opportunities and development within the stellar system]

Communication: Astropathic relay boosters to strengthen communication with other stellar systems.

Internal Security: Enforcer Precinct House

Personal Security [Hire a small retinue of body guards]

Planetary Defenses [Begin construction of orbital defense platforms]

Religion: First Cathedral owned by the Ministorum. Will earn you favor and protect the people from heresy.

Medicae: Construct Medicae facility

Infrastructure: Roads, sanitation, electrical power generation.

Next: Selecting a Governor:


Each player has one vote. And a majority vote is needed to decide who shall be governor. In the event no decision is reached the Adeptus Terra will select the new governor:

One of you can nominate yourself as Governor. Alternatively, you could request the Adeptus Terra to select a candidate from the Imperial Bureaucracy.

Colonel Loisy is sure of two things: he's got money plenty, and he's got ways to invest plenty.

His priority is to make this place able to take its part of the burden as soon as possible, thus, in his mind, before the neat details or the enhancments of everyday life can begin, this planet will have to feed, arm, and maintain an army and an industry. He nows he kallen stock and has no doubt that even if some hardship is ahead, they'll deal with it, as compared to the hellhole that is Kallen, this is already paradise to them.

Considering the rich ore beds lying, it is only natural to him that it should be extracted and put into good use in earnest.

So that's one in ore invested.

However, he is not sure that, unfortunatly, his retenue, as of now, counts any apt members to actually put it to use... Better safe than sorry, and for now, he'd be happy to collaborate with the mecanicus to grow an industry. As an added bonus, it should help him gain some favours with the clergy of Mars, and he has seen many times over in service to the guard how valuable such favours can get...

So, that's one invested in manufacturing ties with the mecanum.

Thirdly, and that is only the beginning probably, Loisy, as a seasonned and decorated offcier, believes that only he has got the skill and grit to actually oversee the PDF forces, and he will gladly get at it by taking in charge the part of the defensive network's construction, plus the recruiting and training of garrisons.

Lastly then, 1 invested in defenses.

Loisy does not wish to be the governor as of yet: he is afraid of the administratum and other imperial instituation that he never dealt with and needs to evaluate them before... And to see where their drones' loyalty actually lay.

So, colonel Loisy calls on the Adeptus Terra to make a call.

Senior Administrator Friedrich von Gaussenberg had arrived early to the meeting, as he really REALLY hated being late to an appointment. Meanwhile he was also to much set in his ways to just enter, assuming that the time of everyone involved was precious and as their meeting had been scheduled to a specific time, it would be disrespectful to just enter half an hour early, using up more time than was agreed upon before hand. So he just... waited outside, right by the door, his mind and attention sunk deeply into his datapad and a small formated thick little journal he used to keep track of his arrangements. As the other members of the new found government arrived, he greeted each and everyone of them with the respect that protocoll dictated, still biding his time until it was time to join them.

von Gaussenberg was not a big man, barely 5,5 and leaning to the haggard side. His hairline had already receeded quite a bit, but where there was still hair at the side it was thick and bushy and a silvery grey. His skin was rather pale and wrinkled, but his eyes were still clear and vivid, indicating a sharp and attentive mind within. According to his file he had just started into his second century, but rejunivation treatment and discreet augmetics had done their part to keep him in the game for another one if nothing ill befell him in the meantime. His dress was an antiquated looking uniform in matte black, with polished bronze buttons and a brokat vest underneath. Expensive but not pretentious and fitting to his rather stiff body language.

His life had been dedicated to the Adeptus Administratum in all its glory, brooding over files, calculating endless formulas, checking tax returns of whole hiveworlds... and endless string of numbers, dancing up and down in his mind. He loved his numbers. They were like old friends... no, like family. He always prided himself in being able to read the little stories they told about a world, sometimes happy, sometimes sad. And after decades studying them he had at least some ideas how to make the numbers dance in a way that would help a world to prosper. That was what he had also told himself to calm down, after his superiors had informed him he would be send to Planet X5L2589 to handle Administratum affairs on the new founded colony.He had never done such a thing, but if the numbers had told those above him, that he was the right man for the job, so be it. The numbers never lied.
They seemed to put quite some trust into him as a significant amount of ressources had been relegated to him, to use as he seemed fit, without any oversight as long as the expected results were met. Friedrich still felt a bit conflicted about that. On the one hand it was as great of an opportunity to do some things right that had always bothered him reading about other worlds. On the other hand it was a good way to waste precious imperial ressources and find your way into an early grave - if you were lucky.

Be it as it may, now was his time to do his part for the Imperium and humanity. After greeting the other counsil members and hearing their proposals he sends a couple of schematics and graphs from his datapad unto the large holodisplay in the middle of the room. The images show an enormous and highly detailed infrastructure grid including everything one could ever think of. Roads, railsways, ports, water pipes, Electricity lines, schools, medicae facilities... but overall much too oversized for the number of colonists already there. Upon closer inspection it gets clear that a lot of the planed infrastructure is mainly designed to be prepared for later stages of the colonies development... decades, sometimes centuries later. The settlements for the first settlers are to be build for their number but already in a way that the first habblocks are solid enough to build the fundament of hundreds more to be stacked on top of them. The streets are wide enough to later add railways without much hassle, the waterpipes have backups and filters and everything. Friedrich explains "It looks excessive now, but in the long run, it will pay off. It always pays of. Or to put it the other way around: you always pay for not thinking things through, when you start with infrastructure. If you don't build with the next centuries in mind, you have to build several times, always pulling down, what you build before. And every bit of efficiency adds up. If we build the most optimal railway from the hydroponics plants and the ore ressources now instead of having to build them around habblocks later, we can save ...."

His litany might go on fore hours if he isn't stopped, but in essence he seems hellbend in spending a large proportion of his ressources to optimize the infrastructure of the colony and make it futureproof for at least a century, even if that means compromising the immediate progress. His general view seems to be on decades and centuries, struggling to see the point in prioritizing immediate needs. There are some positives though as Colonel Loisy can for example see that the powergrid necessary to one day far away install Macrolasers as planetary defense is already included in the development plan.
"There's but one time to get on top of infrastructure and it is right at the start. All else is just patchwork and dirty compromise"


[If that is possible I want to put all 3 ressource points into infrastructure. As indicated: build everything from the start in a way that the colony can "grow into it".]

The assembled crowd gasped and awed as they took in the proposals of Gaussenberg and Colonel Loisy.

Minister Gallow, who was seated at the head of the long circular table around which each high representative sat, spoke in response.

"Magos 01, what do you make of these plans for investment?"

The Magos replied in an automated feminine voice, not unlike the sweet sounding early AI assistants of Terra's distant past.

"The Mechanica are pleased with the proposals. Our sacred Standard Template Construct shall be nurtured and loved with these commitments, and shall grow into the centerpiece of this world. Looking to Colonel Loisy she replies: A manufactorum you shall have, and with it, the constructs for a well armed PDF and tithes for the Emperor's armies."

Then she looks to Gaussenberg. "And with this great investment in infrastructure, you shall also have a Hive someday. We will begin digging the foundations immediately."

Gallow nodded his head and then turned to Bishop Sagius. "And what does the Ministorum say?"

The Bishop looked slightly irritated and had a sneering look under his nose as he spoke.

"A sizable investment in a Cathedral would be more fitting. No doubt, many of the faithful flock and their shepherds will be disappointed, but they shall content themselves to their temples while the pressing matters of raising this world up begin in earnest. However I do hope that should more wealth flow into this province, that the benefactors of this world will not forget the sacred duty of the Ministorum. Might I suggest a small consolation then?"

"If we can not yet have a cathedral than I will ask for a name. Name this world after one of our venerated and Holy Saints. There are many to choose from.

Gallows nods his head. "I doubt you will see opposition to that cause your excellency."

"What say you councilmen, do you agree with the Bishops' Proposal. And if so, what Saint will you give name to this world we have brought into the Emperor's light?" [You can pick anything, canon or not]

Once the matter is resolved Gallows looks again to the council.

"I see no one has submitted their candidacy for governsorship? Than I suppose that as High Adept that duty will fall to myself. I am afterall first and foremost committed to the tithes that will be forthcoming. Does any member of this council object?"

Von Gaussenberg is satisfied, that someone stepped up to take on the burden of being planetary governor. If it had befell to himself, he would of course have carried the burden, trying his best to earn the trust given to that honorable position, but he was satisfied with just being a cog in the great machine instead of the one in command. Therefore he taps his walking cane in agreement and thumps his approval into the datapad, as Minister Gallows throws his hat into the ring.

The Bishops musings do gain his attention and he contemplates for some moments before proposing "Might I throw in St. Bonifatius? I always admired the Saint for his valliant work in spreading the Faith, bringing light into this dark dark galaxy..." a saint of the missionaris galaxia, known for his missionary deads. A good choice if one wants to appease the Ecclesiarchy as he was sainted for purely religious deeds instead of feats of battle or conquest as some other saints that tend to be occupied by the Astra Militarum or other branches of the Imperium.


As soon as the opportunity arrises to have a moment in private, Von Gaussenberg would shuffle over to Bishop Sagius, bowing deeply. "A word, your highness?"
Should the addressed agree, Von Gaussenberg would talk about him that he knows about, and greatly appreciates the important role of the Imperial faith for the prosperity of a world - as does the Administratum. He appologizes for his current set of priorities in this first session, underlining that "Ecclesiarchy Presence" and "Food" are the immediate next points on his agenda and showing him his datapad, that at least says so too.
"Strong faith breeds strong people and strong people create good times... One day our world will need a Cathedral and as you might already have guessed, I am no man for half measures. So pray forgive this humble servant to ask that of you, but grant us some patience." he musters his fellow a bit before implying "Unfortunatly the common people tend to be rather shortsighted and ungrateful, seldomly really appreciating long term solutions when faced with some short term inconveniences. If you can help me out on that front a little bit... teach the masses the importance of paying taxes, being patient and accepting that we are in this for the long run, you might find me even more forthcomming and my priorities shifting accordingly..."

Theres no point in pretending this was not a bribe and no shame in admitting it. Basically what Friedrich offers is a sizeable (and probable long term) support from the Administratum for the Imperial Faith IF they scratch his back now and then.

Colonel Loisy is satisfied with the meeting as well. He is aware of his shortcomings in all manners of fields, and that he isn't fit for the role.

Befriending the adepts of Mars is a good step forward, as he knows that, if he wishes to set up defenses worthy of the imperium, their help will be paramount... As it will to manufzfture the goods and squeeze the money to meet tithes demands.

However, Loisy is unsettled by the Bishop reaction. On the one hand, Loisy and his kin are a pious lot. He felt almost ashamed of not having met the requirements of the munistorum. But he knew he had no choice.

Not afraid to speak in front of others, he stood up, and addressed the Bishop.

"Your Excellency, pardon my lack of investment in this matter. I beg you take my word for it, that we, Kallenese people, are a pious lot, as on our cursed word, it is all we have got, and it is all we brought from their: faith in the Emperor.

May you see my investments in defense and industry as a way to put it to good use, as the best possible act of faith we can. And doubt not, our chapels are full of faithfull at any time.

As a sign of respect towards your spiritual guidance, I propose that you should name this world as you see fit, to give the best example to the people of this newly founded word."

With these words, he hoped to have made amend and soothed the bishop's discontent.

Now, he would let his subordinates and the mecanicum make good use of the money he gave them, and himself start the overseeing od the first defense battery...

Loisy did not learn of Von Gaussenberg bribing of the bishop, and he doesn't really care. However, he thinks to himself, that je may as well do his part by building these infrastructures... But Loisy would have to convince him to not neglect military ones as well... In any case, he will try his best to keep the soon born military fermy on his hand: he is yet again convinced to no one is better armed for the task.


----

Long story short, Loisy intends to size everything related to armed forces and their supply, as he sees the security of the planet as his sacred duty from now on, while trying to maintain good relations with everyone, but relies on his mecanicus allies and will try to use them to keep in touch with the projects von Gaussenberg carries out... He assumes malice on all sides, but for now, he does not feel at risk in his endeavour.

Friedrich would also use every opportunity that he gets to at least superficially get to know the other members of the ruling council, trying to get a grasp on their aims and ideas for the world. Overall he needs information to evaluate if his ideas will face ignorance or even backlash, who might be a possible ally and who a stubborn hindrance. To Colonel Loisys it gets clear, that von Gaussenberg has no intention of interfering with any military business, indeed assuming him to be the obvious choice to handle such affairs. And while the Administrator seems very focussed on concentrating on the civilian side of development, he at least has the sense of including plans to support the military, like strategically placed forts and citadells as well as power backup systems that provide additional layers of security.
In other words: Loisy doesn't expect Gaussenberg to invest ressources in military stuff, but he won't ignore the armies needs during his own civilian planning and wont get involved into the Colonels business either.

Gaussenberg specifically has a longer chat with the Mechanicum delegate as well as who ever is in charge of the fledging colonies agricultural facilities. Notably he tries to concinve both of them that a solid infrastructure will profit both their fields of work immensely in the future and that he has their respective agencies as high priorities on his agenda. But as an Administrator his knowledge of their needs is limited, so he is very much open for input.
Primarily he implies that his next investment should go in parts towards improving food production as this too is something better started early and right than late and as a patchwork. If possible he wants to convince the Priest of Mars that allocating ressources there instead of to the Mechanicum is not meant as a slight but to provide a healthy and numerous worker base in the future and that he has not forgotten the importance of the Manufactorums, even though it might look that way in the near future.

The Bishop reacts to the entreaties of the clerk and the colonel with solemn gratitude, neither betraying that he is pleased nor displeased with your actions.

In response to the matter of the name he nods. "Yes, The Reach of St. Bonifatius. That seems like an endearing name for an enduring world, lifted up into the Emperor's light. The Ministorum will look forward to your continued support in many matters, large and small.

In the coming years, the low born would come to call it Boni's Reach, or simply Reach

Minister Gallows nods his head.

"Very good. you have set forth your plans, and you have a governor... and Emperor willing, you can keep him." The large rotund man smirks beneath his flowing brown hooded robe.

"May your endeavors prove fruitful gentlemen."

Next we will fast forward about ten years. I'll need to get your characters statted up, there will be some challenges coming your way!

*interlude dawn of war music as Loisy minds his macro batteries and his Rambo syndrome*

Arriving was a courtesy and a gift, therefore it was best to do it a bit late. It was preferable to be the last one to arrive, and timing that took a certain something most bureaucrats lacked.

Cardinal Richemont's stooped form slunk into the room, his white robes practically shining in the grey room. He measured a solid 5 foot, 2 inches thanks to his stoop, but the weight of the golden cords, silvered chains, and the 2 and half foot tall white and red hat took their toll on a person's posture after a few decades. A long white beard hung down, almost covering the Imperial Eagle on his chest, embroidered in gold. White, bushy eyebrows sprung from the edge of his over-sized hat. His wrinkled face beamed triumphantly as his cool grey eyes surveyed the others in the room.

Before him, a servitor droned a low chant and rhythmically swung a censor full of acrid incense, while another unrolled a red carpet where he the Cardinal walked. Behind him, Cherubs held up his long, white and red trimmed train. A final servitor collected a re-rolled the red carpet after he had passed.

'A cathedral is an excellent idea, Bishop! I am glad you had the foresight and faith to bring the motion forward before I could arrive," the Cardinal said. It was clear his day's of fiery oration were far behind him.

"What the people need is Faith, good works for their hands, and a rod to keep them from being spoilt.

I pledge my resources to support this efforts. Agriculture as the toils of the field is critical, a Cathedral, and the Enforcer Hub.

St. Bonifatius will be a shining beacon of righteousness for the sector to emulate!"

The Cardinal beamed at High Adept Gallows, "I fully support your magnificent rule as Imperial Governor! Long live the Governor!"

The initial years of running the colony would be harsh, better to let someone else take the harsh times.

10 Years Later

The world develops slowly, but largely in accordance with your plans.

More towns and settlements are established throughout the arid dusty continents, with grox herding and mining being the predominant industries. Meanwhile the rough shape of a hive starts to form from the capital city, supported by the vast investments made in infrastructure. Within the proto-hive, the Mechnicum established the world's first manufactorums, which slowly start to creep out and grow, gradually absorbing more and more workers, while producing an ever expanding number of civilian and military products.

Even more amazing, the Mechanicum discovered the remains of an ancient early Imperial human civilization buried within the deep sands of the planet. Several successful expeditions uncovered rare archeotech which further helped the Mechanicum to expand its manufacturing capabilities

These years also saw the establishment of a robust PDF and the completion of the planet's first orbital defense battery. The Colonel became the de facto head of the PDF and consolidated an immense power base behind him as a result.

Meanwhile, the Ecclesiarchy consolidated it's own power base within the Proto-Hive, erecting the first stages of a massive cathedral which regularly drew crowds in the thousands whenever the Cardinal would speak. Meanwhile, the proto hive's harsh enforcers kept a close watch on the denizens of the city, ensuring a measure of order, at least within the proto-hive.

And yet all of the growth was accompanied by creeping pain and a growing sense of fear and stagnation.


There was the usual corruption of course. Every minor official did whatever they could to line their own pockets, but that was par for the course on most Imperial worlds, and therefore was not very notable.

But there were also the mutants and the psykers. The Ministorum Priests were said to be effective in identifying mutations and routing them out of the population. Or at least, the Ministorum Priests said as much. Supported by the Enforcer's surveilance network, it seemed that the purges were at least successful enough within the proto-hive, but out in the untamed wilderness it was anyone's guess.

Certainly rumors abound of criminal mutant gangs and even rogue psykers either hiding deep in an unoticed part ofthe proto hive or out in the wilderness. But these might very well be rumors...

Of more immediate concern was the Trade Union. No one is sure how it emerged but it started in the mines. The low born cried out against the perceived corruption of the lords. Petitions turned to protests, which turned to work stoppages, which turned into strikes. Then it spread to the farms, and finally the manufactorums.


Now the world stands on a precipice. The Trade Union has made one final petition to the governor, and if their demands are not met, they threaten to bring the economy to a stand still.


[Gaussenberg manages to earn 1 wealth during this period of time as revenue from power generation fees, road tolls etc prove immune to the labor disputes. The other players however will not have any excess wealth unlocked until this crisis is resolved]


The Council Chamber:

That same chamber was larger now and grander, decorated with fine Gothic Architecture. The long board room table now replaced with an open aired amphitheater, and illuminated with floating servo screen skulls. The room is dimly lit, and deathly silent. Normally, official council business would be held during the day and each council member would be accompanied by several dozen attendants, and servants. But this meeting had been called in secret, meaning that it would be a pressing matter indeed.


The Governor addresses you all.

"Members of the council. What would you have me do about this so called trade union and it's demands? I feel that I have ignored these problems for too long now, and something must be done."

"Do you advise a negotiation? We have some leverage from an economic stand point. I could threaten to legalize mutant labor or I could send out a call to another Imperial world and offer to pay them to flood us with their cheap labor. Surely the leaders of this Trade Union would see reason, once my superior position is established in the negotiation. Assuming they are not really some heretics in disguise."

"But that would look weak wouldn't it? Asking for greater pay, less working hours, better living conditions, these are not Imperial ideals. Surely some force is corrupting our people is it not? Part of me wants to wait and see who joins this so called global strike and then crush them with our enforcers and the PDF. But would that make me a tyrant, hated by the people, and potentially set us even further back in our production goals. We have been fortunate that our tithes have been so light so far, but we can't expect that to remain indefinitely."


"What say you good council? What shall we do?"

Friedrich von Gaussenberg listened intently to the Governors appeal, satisfied that this unfortunate ordeal is finally giving the priority it deserves. Even though his own domains were not YET affected that much by the growing dissent of the workers union, the immediate risk for the growing colony was obvious. Nonetheless he couldn't shake the lingering feeling that this... was not really his problem. Keeping the masses quiet and obedient was first and foremost the liability of the Ecclisarchy, the arbites and enforcers and if had started to spiral out of control the PDF. And so far Cardinal Richemont and Colonel - or was it General already? - Loisy had been so eager to get these forces under their control that this was kind of their business...
Then again, it wouldn't help to ignore the issue and there might be a time where it was the other way around and he would need help when his fields of work caused troubles for the Reach of St. Bonifatius.

Friedrich checked his beloved dataslates and calculaters again, while another mechanical appendic appeared from amongst his clerk robes, giving him a helping hand to hold several dataslates at once. Still being on the very punctual site and being ignorant of the very effective intricacies of timing that Cardinal Richemont used so expertly, the Adminstrator offered his council first.
"It is my believe that this might be an issue of "zuckerbrot and Peitsche" as it was called back home on Mordia. I believe the saying is carrot and stick around here, isn't it? So my council is that we agree to comply with some of their demands, maybe even surpass them - for those that agree to return to obediency. Meanwhile we should also show presence and ability to punish those, that show themselves ungrateful and slap away the outstretched hand that was offered." he pushes some runes on his dataslate and the holodisplay in the middle of the room flashes with his usual schematics again. At least von Gaussenberg had learned something over the last decade and everyone could see a summary as part of the display.
"I have already set significant funding in motion to increase agricultural production and accessibility to its products for the common people, as I believe a full stomach has no stomach for revolt - if you excuse the word play. It should be enough to provide every worker with enough food stuff to not worry too much over survival as long as he doesn't openly refuse to do his share for the colony while providing the opportunity to reward those that show obediency. For the next decade at least the Administratum will bear the cost to keep food prices low, but part of it will be made accessible as payment for work done to give some incentive against strikes."

His planning - as usual includes lots of little details that might only fully take effect in decades, including for example reserving the most arrable land for farms, which tends to be covered with habblocks if cities grow naturally from rural dwellings as it tends to happen on "normal" worlds. A thing that always bothered him. As with the failsaves for his infrastructure grid he also plans to start at least small plantations of crop that would be resistant to climate shifts, to get a head start if things should unexpectedly change.

He looks over to those council members that by one way or the other are involved in Security and comments "Meanwhile I would recommend that the commonfolk is reminded in daily live that while we are benevolent rulers that comply to righteous demands, we do have the means to punish stubborn acts of obstruction and sabotage. Hopefully this will not even be necessary but they must know that we CAN and we WILL if our hands are forced.




Next he nods towards Cardinal Richemont and Bishop Sagius "Of course we all do not only need worldy nourishment but even more the guiding light of faith and our emperor. So it is my firm believe that we should support the good work of the ecclesiarchy to bring it to our world. The Administratum will assist with funds for that. As a layman I would think it might be best used to forward the construction of our cathedral, but who am I to judge. So of course I entrust these fundings to our good Cardinal and Bishop to do with it as they please. I would also like to highlight our long term commitment to this issue, so unless unforeseen circumstances should put the Administratum in a position that we do not have any funding at all, you can count on a continuation of it over the next decade."


Last but not least von Gaussenberg sets the construction of long distance communication arrays in motion and requests a trained choir of Astropaths from the Adeptus Astra Telepathica from the additional wealth he gained through his control over the infrastructure. He wants to be able to start relations with the Administrators on neighboring worlds and do some networking with the imperial bureaucracy back on Terra and on the Segmentum Capital in Hydraphur. So nothing that will lead to immediate results, but again long term strategy. Making friends and gaining allies in these agencies might take decades, so better start it now. He specifically tries to at least now when inspections, tithes etc. are due and maybe even have a lever to slightly delay them or influence that what is demanded doesn't exceed what they can give.

He doesn't mention this loudly in the ruling chamber and doesn't try to gain any open gratitude for it, but he doesn't hide his efforts either, so everyone who has any say in the planets matter will know sooner or later.

Richemont was bowed obsequiously to von Gaussenberg's generous offer of additional funding for the Cathedral.

Your generosity will be noted by the God-Emperor himself. I of course will continue to also back construction of the Cathedral as the hub of spirituality on the planet, but I would wish to use von Gaussenberg's contribution to build a network of Missionary stations, shrines, and local congregations out in the hinterlands.

Richemont had noted that the only one who had managed to drive considerable profit in the past decade was the bureaucrat. That was disturbing, and he would have to be watched.

I agree with the Carrot and the Stick approach. However, I would recommend we added more "consumer goods" to the mix as well as foodstuff. Give people a taste of luxury, and they have something to loose if the system is disrupted. Add these luxuries on top for those most loyal to our cause and breaking the power of the Trade Union. We need to prove to the people that the Trade Union brings them pain, while we bring them luxury. I will invest in these consumer goods and leave my investments in Enforcers stagnant.

The Cardinal did not enjoy reducing the power in his Iron Fist, but it was easier to control the populace with honey than with the rod. He had enough invested to give him the leverage and spies he needed... for now. An expanded Missionary service would fill that gap for the moment.

It seems obvious to me, that when it comes to enforcement, we should leave that to our esteemed Colonel. He seems to have the most experience and energy for the task.

However, if we can not feed the people no amount of force will quell them. Therefore, I will continue my investments in Food production as well. If the are forced to choose between survival and the regime, the people are always going to choose survival. Empty bellies lead to revolt.

The Bureaucrat's move into food production was unpleasant to Richemont. He knew that control of the food supply was control of the population. He had hoped to corner the marker in that space, but his resources had been incomplete to give him that control. Perhaps he could acquire his stake in the future, as his mind was focused more on infrastructure and networks for support, rather than the power of the people.

Loisy listnend with discipline, as befits a professionnal soldier, waiting for the his turn to speak. When the governor's eyes set on him, he stood, emptied and spread his portfolio on the table, and began reporting on the capabilities and the plans he had for the PDF forces and order on this world.

These were harsh. Loisy presented the PDF as purged: in the ten year that came, he enforced total ideological adherence to the imperial faith and the Emperor, and made these pdf a force to be reckoned with. Because of his extremly paranoid nature, and because he lived through treachery on Inamorta, he made sure all places of importance where of his own folks: all NCO or almost, most officers, and a substantial part of the PDF were recruited amongst Kallenese people, to ensure coherency and loyalty.

But now, he started to see the world as a nest of corruption and he would gladly be the one to dive in and tear the heart of this corruption apart... In his mind, apart from his PDF, anyone, including the police forces, could be guilty in some extend.

Loisy was brutally direct: he demanded his special forces be entitled to bypass all protocols and take the head of all potential or proved leaders of the trade union. He was obviously not a fool - he does not want to starve the people, it was not his duty to inflict misery on them, and on that he agreed with von Gaussenberg- but he needed to send a clear message. But, according to the list he was to show only the governor right after the meeting, in secret, some of the alleged leaders where members of the administration and the police forces. Hence why he asked for freeway to act as he saw fit.

However, with the threat of mutants and heretics truly rising, he needed to yet further reinforce his PDF capabilities, with both materiel and men.

The material part would fall on the shoulders of the mecanicus - the manufactorum was already installed, and he deemed that they probably would appreciate if, in some fashion, more ore kept flowing to better arm and equip the troops, and let some of these riches pay the tithes... But if the war actually broke out, he would no longer be able to rely on the mecanicum. So he reckoned that his methods of targeting the head and sever it to bring the rank and file workers back intro their workplaces would impact them less, and please his mecanicum friends.

While he would gladly leave the rest -food, medicae care, confort- to the others, as he was not a man of economics, and in fact longs for cooperation with them in the best interest of the people of Saint Bonifatius Reach, he was adamant that he only, on matters of security and mutants, had the skill and experience to deal with this crisis.


Finaly, as a last invesment, Loisy would be glad to participate in the projects of the cathedral. He proposed to invest a small portion of his soldiers, in turn, to the building of the cathedral. People would see their protectors work hand in hand beside them for the glory of the Emperor, and this would be felt as an honour by his mostly Kallenese army to work directly towards such a goal.

Though he kept it a secret, Loisy was more and more encline to get int touch with the inquisition just in case...

------------

To make it into something clearer:

Loisy has lived the hell of trahison by the mutants, and he sees them everywhere, especially -as had been the case with the genestealer cults he fought- in strategic positions, hiding or helping them out so favour their own interests. He wishes to cull as many of them, leave the trade union and mutant agitators headless. Considering Richemont pulls out of the enforces, I imagine Loisy actually gets free way to purge the enforcers as he wishes, but I'll leave to the GM to know if such strikes are also carried out in non-armed institutions of the planet, something less likely as neither the administratum nor the ecclesiarchy would tolerate it. For now, Loisy will have to comply.

If more investment is required, that'd be 1 into pdf to carry out such manhunts. Another one would go into PDF as they keep reinforcing to make sure they are ready for anything... and remain pure.

Lastly, he wants to finally concur to the religious fever that lacked and led this world to the brink of heresy. He will propose to put a contingent of soldiers on work rotation to build the cathdral at the expense of the army.

1 into religion.


Loisy remains totally dedicated to the cause, and will actually try to help (hence why he agrees with von Gaussenberg to not starve people). But at the same time, his grip tightens on the security forces as he believes more and more that only he has the gall for it.

Ignorant of Richemond schemes, he will not willingly go against him as a priest. But paranoid as he is, he indeeds thinks that the corruption also has got spiritual roots and not all of the clergy may be innocent... He is very thankfull that they leave matters of security to him, and makes a promise that he will do everything in he's power.

Should matters deteriorate futher or his security measures be denied, he will if possible try to raise the alarm in the inquisition in some way. But for now, he is satisfied with the results, as he belives that they have in a way come to agree on who does what in a global strategy to both ease people, and make them realise what the confort they'd lose by rebelling... And the lasbolt to the head they'd get as a replacment.

After the others stated their investments, von Gaussenberg applauds the Cardinal specifically and adresses Cardinal Richemont once more. "Your excellency, if you also pledge resources to further our agricultural production, I consider diverting half of my investment from this sector over into our medical system. I recon our combined investment would still suffice and we could add another facet of the good live that potential rebels might loose."

His reasoning is in part efficiency, but also that he wants to avoid stepping into other rulers business for now. So if Richemont is invested in food, let it be his domain.




The Colonels rather heavy handed approach is... one way to do it. His "cleaning" of the PDF ranks as well as shaping the militaries loyalties to be chained to him eludes von Gaussenberg who does not have the world view to register it. And if those crackdowns kill off some of his men, he might accept this as colateral damage for now

The Governor nods his head at your proposals, "Most ambitious and generous my fellow Lords."

"I will announce my degree and it shall be titled: A degree of Bread and Circuses the people will have lower food prices, and shall have some decent entertainment and spectacle. A parade from the PDF, theatrical productions from the Ministorum, whatever you see fit to keep the people distracted from their hardships, and yet, not veering from their devotion to the Emperor. This will undoubtedly put the labor dispute to rest, at least for a time."

And then he raises an augmetic arm and gestures to the Colonel. "But if any of the leaders of this so called union are mutants or heretics, they must be put to death...quietly if possible."

"Can I entrust you lords to carry out a discreet investigation and take appropriate action? If there are enemies of the Emperor on this world, I would prefer them to disappear, like they never existed to begin with. I certainly WOULD NOT want the Arbites or even higher authorities to find out that we have been negligent in our sacred duties."

Loisy nods politely in agreement: their culling will be thorough, but it will be precise and he will make sure there are no collateral damages. Loisy had already more or less investigated by himself prior tho this and proposes to submit the list in secret to the governor only, so he knows we're his hammer will most probably fall. He will let the list be reinvestigated by the governor's own services - should he not concur, Loisy might start to think that maybe he has got something to hide...

The Governor is very hands off in response to the Colonel running the list by him. He wants no part in what is to come...perhaps to support plausible deniability, or perhaps it's just his way of acknowledging that he is a Governor in title only, with the true power players being the members of the council.


But yes, over the next few weeks, the Colonel's PDF carry out dozens of raids on suspected leaders of the Trade Union even as the Governor issues his degree to appease the masses. The raids are followed by interrogations, and...if the Colonel judges the suspect to be heretical, quiet executions.

All together some 50 persons are detained, and of the 50, about half are executed. (The rest are turned over to the Mechanicum to be converted into servitors).

With the interrogations, the Colonel starts to put a few pieces of intelligence together:

1. The Trade Union is largely tolerant of mutants, even pro-mutant. Indeed, most of the executions were carried out when minor mutations were discovered. Your PDF though could not discern whether the mutations were the result of the warp, or something else, like a gene stealer cult, or if they were just natural mutations.
2. Membership could be somewhere in the 1000s though no membership list was discovered. Secretive activist cells are likely in all parts of the world. After the raids, the cells are likely in hiding.
3. No plans for violent actions or terrorism were uncovered. Their activities were involved solely on organizing labor strikes and demanding higher standards of living, and also for more tolerance of "untainted mutation." However...the raids may have altered these plans.
4. The Trade Union has adopted a rather odd mantra which cuts across all their propaganda: "We must Change our Ways for the Greater Good." The Colonel would know that this appears to be a potential reference to a Chaos god, and the Tau Empire. But it could also just be a bizarre coincidence.

[Any other actions from anyone else before the turn is up?]

The colonel will probably bring this greater good stuff to the council, I assume that he believes this is the beginning of a cult of sorts that has created his own god, but he can't say for certain and is puzzled, since he never fought the Tau prior in his life.

[Regarding general things done befor the next round]

Fitting to his modus opperandi so far, von Gaussenberg announces that the Administratum will slowly begin planning for a spaceport in the next years, meaning they will start to figure out how and where to build it and prepare funding etc. Basically he already shows his hand to express that he is a teamplayer. He specifically gets into contact with the Mechanicus represantative 01 as well as Colonell Loisy. The first he adresses laying out that the spaceport first and foremost should bolster trading and as the Mechanicum is the most important producer, it should obviously be taylored to their needs. So he asks for some Tech-Adepts and Priests to get together with his Administratum drones and plan the whole thing from the start to integrate optimaly with the needs of the Marsian Priesthood and their Manufactorums. Overall this is again an outstretched hand towards one of the powerplayers on the planet showing that von Gaussenberg has the best interests of the colony in mind.

Similarly he offers the Colonell to offer input on how to plan everything in a way that the PDF has an easy time defending it should the need arise, including for example guard houses, pillboxes and secured access roads. He also does his best to not let the impression arise that he wants to interfere with Loisys alliance with the Mechanicum. He just tries to be a team player and really hates ineffeciency, so the Admech people should be involved in this.

Last but not least he makes clear to the local trading houses that the Administratum plans on providing the means to get trade going (and get rich on it), but they won't get involved themselves. It will be upon them to seize this opportunity when they finally get around this in the next decade or so.
Which again hopefully gives several powers of this great game good reason to let von Gaussenberg live in peace as he will be useful in the future, which in the end is all he wants.


__________________________

[regarding the immediate concern with rebels and the greater good]

Friedrich bows respectfully as the governor asks if he can entrust them with handling this affair, stating that he will assist to the best of his abilities to resolve this crisis. He still thinks this is not his field of responsibility, but he doesn't want to make enemies either, so offers what help he can to colonel Loisys man hunt. When his teams have requests of shutting down energy in a hab block for a raid or need roads or trainlines closed, von Gaussenberg makes sure that the red tape is cut and the planetary bureaucracy works that little bit faster and less complicated that might make the difference.
When he later brings the results of his interrogations into the council chamber, Friedrich will not make the connections others might do from the wording "greater good" and instead just chips in "If we can convince the public that our benevolent rule is the greatest good they can achieve, we might even be able to use this to our advantage...?" looking over to the Ecclesiarchy representatives who he assumes have a much better grasp on how people function, as this really isn't his strongsuite.

[Other business]

Cardinal Richemont meets with the Bishop to plan out the network of shrines and Minisortium outposts into the outer regions, As this network grows, he will use it to provide tips and leads to Loisy in his manhunts.

He will also partner with 01 of the Mechanicum on the Consumer Goods that need to be produced to ensnare the population into the chains of luxury. Then the Cardinal will try to build connections with a handful of local Trade Houses for distribution with a cut going into his treasury as their benefactor. He will curry favor with some of the Houses and purposely pit them against each other to compete for the contracts. Unlike von Gaussenberg, Richemont wants his patronage to appear highly lucrative and valuable to any Trade House that wants to flourish.

In his Agricultural sector, he will be less demanding of profit, and possibly even generous in making sure to control and maintain low costs. He wants this staple freely available from the Church, and uses his growing Minisortium network as a distribution network to the less fortunate. However, he wants the poverty stricken to see the Ecclesiarchy and piety as their lifeline.

He is working hard to create a system of winners and losers. The "Winners" will have access to luxuries, while the losers will live closer to subsistence. The Church and government helps pick the winners, but also a stabilizing hand for the losers of his class system. There needs to be a permanent underclass dependent on the Church for Piety and survival, while the Winners will also will need access to the church for their "status".

Everything must be in balance.

[About Current Business]
The Cardinal's influence in crime management has stayed static, while Loisy's has grown. However, his small network will be given the task of helping Loisy fill his lists. Sometimes, those who have crossed the Cardinal, have found themselves pulled into a web of suspicion. Folks who refused to sell their land, made life difficult for his Trade House allies, the members of a rival Trade Houses that did not know their proper place, could all be swept up in the investigations and a black shadow of suspicion and possible arrest cast over them. In that sense, the Cardinal is eager to help his fellow leadership root out the heretics and Trade Unionists.

The Cardinal will also support the creation of the spaceport and even offer to provide land from his own Agricultural position. Provided, his desire is to place the trade hub firmly in realms he controls so he can manage access to and from the Spaceport.

The actions of the PDF and your economic commitments, particularly the food subsidies keep the Trade Union from mounting any more disruptions to the economy. The Governor applauds your efforts and you are free to proceed with your plans to develop the world further.

You know that the world appears to be on the brink of an explosion in development and population as the promise of expanded trade and communication with the wider Imperium promises to bring in great wealth and immigration.

Excellent: We will advance a further 10 years now. Each character will be forced to make difficult choices.

Another decade has run its course and von Gaussenberg has continued to solidify his position as head of the local Administratum. His style of leadership within his agency is quite isolationist at that, keeping not only himself, but also his subordinates out of the other rulers domains as good as possible. Meanwhile this also goes the other way around as he tries his best to monitor, demote and if necessary remove those Administratum drones that get a little bit to friendly with other power players, lacking the undevided loyalty to the Administratum as institution he expects from them. What he tries to select for is a hierarchy of loyalty to the Administratum, the colony and himself, in that order. So even Administrators that are not on best personal terms with him can raise through the ranks if they prove to be loyal to the Imperial bureucracy and their new homeworld. By this he hopes to achieve that his work will be continued when one day the great game he is part of demands its price and someone will kill him off eventually.


As he enters the council chamber he doesn't really look another decade older, quite the contrary to be exact. His hairline is a little bit lower, the grey sprinkled with some blonde hair again and the skin that little bit more rosy, implying another round of rejunivation treatment. So waiting for him to just die of old age might not be the best of strategies. Through his work, that so far seems to have been perceived favorably by his superiors he was recently promoted within the Administratum ranks, expressed by some traditional golden insignia on the breast of his uniformdepicting a spectacled sloth behind a desk full of folders. That doesn't change anything regarding the pecking order of the council members, yet gives him a certain amount of leverage when dealing with the vast amount of clerks, secretaries, bursars and archivars that keep everything running


As it has become kind of a tradition he is the first to lay out his plans for the next decade, which are not really surprising as he has already announced most of it. "Greetings my lords and ladies, your excellency" he adresses the other councelors and the governor respectfully. "And congratulations to our dear Colonel for his excellent handling of that ugly workers union business. We all can sleep peacefully knowing our security in your hands. I would like to mention as much to the Astra Militarum segmentum command advocation for a promotion that seems long overdue. May I suggest to the other council members to support this notion? I believe the rank of general would be more fitting to the Colonels importance for our world..." Overall another olive branch offered to a council member that didn't cost him much, while laying the groundwork for good cooperation within the council. It would also be interesting to see who would and who would not support this move.

"Regarding our worlds further development the Administratum will of course adhere to its announced commitment and allot its share to the good work of the Emperors faithful servants. And as before I would like to relegate the decision on how to best use these funds to care for our souls to Cardinal Richemont and Bishop Sagius, even though as layman I would love to see the completion of our cathedral within my lifetime." Friedrich hopes to cement his reputation as someone reliable who stands by his word. And the ecclesiarchies power to keep the masses quite is undisputable.


"Furthermore as has already been planned for quite a while we will start constructing the planned space port. I want to thank Cardinal Richemont again for his generous offer to provide some of the necessary construction sites to integrate the facilities most optimal into the Manufactorums of our esteemed Priesthood of the Machine god."


Last but not least, von Gaussenberg diverts some of his ressources without announcing them loudly in the council chamber. The imperial bureucracy is a vast, wonderful and perfectly working machine... and as every machine it works best if it is well oiled and greased. So he... applies some grease here and there... makes some friends, helps some carreers, sends little tokens of gratitude on special occasions like birthdays and the like, also using this to mention the promotion of Colonel Loisy here and there.
He would also carefully try to make contact with a representative of the Inquisition Ordo Xenos offering access codes and information to the automated logging system of the space port and the interplanetary comm system he build, which both are setup to monitor should anyone get a bit too friendly with non-imperial powers off world. This is just done as an act of anticipatory obedience and he tries to keep it clean to show that he is not deliberatly snitching on the other council members or trying to scheme against them, but merely setting things up in a way to give the most loyal impression to the Inquistion possible in an attempt to stay on the right side of their "nice and naughty" list.

The Next Decade

With the labor disputes put to rest, the world sees incredible growth over the next decade. The developments are summarized as follows:

1. Economy: The food subsidies continue to require more and more resources, but this is counterbalanced by an increase in trade that comes from the continuing construction and expansion of the space port. The exportation of luxury goods off world, proves quite profitable for all those that invested in the manufactorums and proves to be critical for the world to keep it's finances in good order.

2. Immigration: Increased trade inevitably draws more people to the world. Many are pilgrims that had committed their life savings to travel to some Shrine World but whose ships got lost as a result of the Great Rift, (which scrambled many of the previously stable warp lanes in the Imperial Sanctus). These pilgrims find a welcome home in the proto-hive and are quickly drawn to the Ministorum. Other immigrants come intententionally, hearing of better opportunities. Still others are refugees, often the last survivors of other Imperial worlds that had fallen to various calamnities. Nearly all are absorbed into the proto-hive. Meanwhile, most of the world's original settlers have gravitated to the farms and mines. They look down on the proto-hive dwellers as weak and corrupted by the temptations of big city living. Total Population approaching 750 Million.

3. Defense: The first orbital defense battery is completed along with a light transport ship. The planet tithes it's first Imperial Guard regiment, which embarks upon the transport ship as a tithe. A light ship for the Navy and a regiment for the Guard. However, the tithe depletes nearly half of the active duty PDF and the planet is struggling to find the resources to rebuild.

4. Internal Security: Purges of unsanctioned cults, mutants, rogue psykers, and criminal elements are a regular occurance. However the enforcers and PDF appear to be doing an adequate job, and no serious threats have emerged.

Odd Occurences: Each character has a situation to respond to...what will you do?

The Cardinal:

Your criminal contacts bring somethign of interest to your attention. The High Tech Priest 01 is rumored to have acquired a powerful xenos artifact from some remnants of the old trade union. The artifact is locked away in the Tech Priest's vault supposedly for safe keeping. But rumors abound that she is conducting clandestine research on the artifact.


Gaussenberg: The Administratum

[You send a message through the Astro Telepathica to the Inquisition on Holy Terra. However it is impossible to know if they receive your information. Such is the nature of astro telepathic interstellar communication

During this visit to the Astro-Telepathica however, you discover the following: A few months ago, one of your lesser known adepts, a clerk named Adolphis was charged with delivering a highly sensitive encrypted message from the High Astropath to the Governor's office. However that message was never delivered. You obtain a copy of the message yourself but do not know it's contents as the encryption is very high indeed.

The Colonel:

Now that trade and communication is opened up, you are able to gather some additional information about the wider goings on in the sector. Chaos and Genestealer cults are identified as the biggest threats to your neighbors, while various pirates, (including chaos renegades) represents the second greatesr threat. You are able to glean that "The Greater Good" is associated with a peculiar Xenos race known as the Tau Empire but they are a relatively minor xenos threat confined to only certain parts of the galaxy and not present anywhere near where your world lies.


Your PDF estimates that 60% of the old trade union's leadership was destroyed, but that the survivors may have infiltrated other parts of the world. Your advisors are worried about genestealer cults and continue to advocate for no sanction for mutants.

However, you get a tip that some Ministorum Priests have been giving aide and comfort to mutants in the warrens of the proto-hive. Your advisors suspect the Bishop is turning a blind eye to mutation.

When he heard about the suspiscion a genestealer cult could be active on his planet, Loisy flew into a blind streak of paranoia and rage.

It seemed to all memebers of the council that Loisy had changed not just in rank and aura - in fact, the man himself had something uncanny, something of almost a madman. This was his trauma taking over. One could only hope that his past experience on Inamorta would help him manage the situation, but that he'd cling to his sanity yet and avoid overreacting.

However, the latter was not as certain. Loisy knew well how to counter the cult, he had seen it first hand on Inamorta and could try to replicate the measures... But to him, the extend of the threat was made much more grievous by the evidence he had that some of the Bishop's men outright ignored mutations when they clearly occured. With all the respect he had for the ecclesiarchy, to Loisy, it meant only one thing: if the holy church of the Emperor was besmirched by the genestealer monstrous hybrids, it would need to undergo purification.. whatever people might think about it...

While a changed man, Loisy managed to make good figure in front of the council. He explained clearly all he knew, although with the a hate-filled voice that thunderer heavy as he made his point, suffering no contradiction.

"You cannot estimate that threat to its true level. But I can. I faced them, I saw a world they broke and I was shot in the back by the very men I came to rescue, I fought as much against their blades as I fought to force a passage through corrupt, deformed administrators, I know what it takes to bring them low. It takes thourough purification, cleansing and check.

From now one, I want a decree made to pump as much the medicae require to carry complete medical checks of every citizen, and I mean it, every single one of them. From us, to the very servitors themselves. Anyone, I say anyone, whatever the rank, the function, must be subjected and if he fails the trial, kille don the spot. No, mercy. My PDF and the incorporated policemen will ensure the protection and the carrying out of this cleansing.

Cardinal, your preachers must call to the reporting of mutants wherver they are found. Von Gaussenberg, you need to make the procedures hasslefree for the medicae.

Understand this well: at some point, they will rise. If they rise at their leisure, my depleted PDF will not have had time to rebuild to meet them in battle. We must strike fisrt, find the being at the center of the cult - a monstrous genestealer we call a patriarch- and kill him, or if none of our intelligence services manages it, at least cull them before this happens, when they haven't reached critical mass yet... Even if they rebel in reaction. And then..."

He sat down, obviously worried...

"I have got evidence that some people in the imperial institution are turning a blind eye to all of this. I am about to show them, but hear this much: anyone who will hinder the drastic measures we'll have to enforce should be considered an accomplice, or worst still, a mutant himslef, a traitor in disguise. And I can say this much: at least one of them sits with us right now."... He lost it as his paranoia got the best of him, and is aboput to get loose on the accursed Bishop...

--------

Right, as investments if we still can make those:

1: PDF. Carry on search for mutants.
1: medicae, to carry out the testing of the population
1: bodyguards. Loisy gets incresingly paranoid with the cult emerging in imperial institution, and has made sure a retenue of faithful Kallenese elite soldiers be with him at all times. He does not want to be taken aback yet again.

If this is possible, I want Loisy or his bodyguard ( in case those are accepted) to knock down the Bishop and check him for mutation, while Loisy provide spy-pics of the bishops men engaged with mutants. Should the bishop be indeed found guilty, he will be killed on the spot.

And here is a little extra for you all, a small lore for the first Saint Bonifatius' Raid Regiment!

[FYI: We'll have a council scene where we discuss any big proposals and the Governor's reaction, but first let's see how the other characters respond to their situation's first] [Got to love all this paranoia!]

Von Gaussenberg is a little puzzled about this whole ordeal and conflicted about its implications. Being a good Administrator - or at least trying to be - he should just forward the message to the Governor and not care any further. Meanwhile his instincts tell him that something smells really fishy about all of this.
Finally he decides that after a few month, one or two additional days might not make that much of a difference and he should look into Adolphis reasons for failing to deliver this message first to evaluate how the Imperial cause is best served.

As kind of a failsave should this decision prove fatal and something ill should befall him, he sets up a failsave, guaranteeing that should he not report back, the message will be send to the governor and a copy including information of its source and names and adresses of all people involved go straight to the Inquisition.
Afterwards he sets out to find Adolphis, let him bring into his office if possible and question him about the strange message and his reasons for not delivering it.



____________________________________

Edit: Von Gaussenberg is also a bit conflicted what to think about Colonel Loisy. The man seems to be under a lot of stress, but the Administrator lacks the people skills to make any good guess if the colonels actions are just an effective way to cope with a crisis or a sign that he lost his mind. As Loisys appeal to proactively tackle the problem and burn out the root before it can bear fruit sound quite sensible to him, von Gaussenberg decides to give him the benefit of the doubt and err in his favor. "I will prepare a priority list which members of the Administratum should be checked first because they could do the most harm. Obviously I volunteer to be the first examined thoroughly. There will also be a change in procedures including orders for regular medical inspection and failure to adhere to it will lead to removal from office and a notification towards your office. If we can assist any further let me know..."

 Pyroalchi wrote:
Von Gaussenberg is a little puzzled about this whole ordeal and conflicted about its implications. Being a good Administrator - or at least trying to be - he should just forward the message to the Governor and not care any further. Meanwhile his instincts tell him that something smells really fishy about all of this.
Finally he decides that after a few month, one or two additional days might not make that much of a difference and he should look into Adolphis reasons for failing to deliver this message first to evaluate how the Imperial cause is best served.

As kind of a failsave should this decision prove fatal and something ill should befall him, he sets up a failsave, guaranteeing that should he not report back, the message will be send to the governor and a copy including information of its source and names and adresses of all people involved go straight to the Inquisition.
Afterwards he sets out to find Adolphis, let him bring into his office if possible and question him about the strange message and his reasons for not delivering it.


____________________________________

Edit: Von Gaussenberg is also a bit conflicted what to think about Colonel Loisy. The man seems to be under a lot of stress, but the Administrator lacks the people skills to make any good guess if the colonels actions are just an effective way to cope with a crisis or a sign that he lost his mind. As Loisys appeal to proactively tackle the problem and burn out the root before it can bear fruit sound quite sensible to him, von Gaussenberg decides to give him the benefit of the doubt and err in his favor. "I will prepare a priority list which members of the Administratum should be checked first because they could do the most harm. Obviously I volunteer to be the first examined thoroughly. There will also be a change in procedures including orders for regular medical inspection and failure to adhere to it will lead to removal from office and a notification towards your office. If we can assist any further let me know..."

Prior to the Council Meeting

Gaussenberg eventually finds his way to the office where Adolphis is supposed to sit. But finds another clerk instead. "Umm, hello?" He looks up confused.

After a big of chit chat, you find out that Adolphis tripped down a flight of stairs, supposedly by accident after retrieving the encrypted message from the astro telepathica. Regrettably, the adept passed away from his injuries. Most of your fellow clerks agree that Adolphis was too clumsy and never properly fastened his sandals.

What happened to the message was anyone's guess. It seems it was one bureaucratic oversight after the next with the whole incident.


At the Council Meeting

[Opposed roll Louise wins and manages to grab the Cardinal and expose him somewhat, no mutations exposed though]

The Governor looks appalled and frightened by the Colonel's conduct.

"Colonel...some decorum please."

"Now I appreciate your sentiment but what specific evidence do you have that a genestealer cult is active here...other than the intelligence we have that they are active elsewhere in the sector? We can't afford to bring this world to a stand still...including our sacred tithes, over some paranoia."

"Now I suppose I could authorize more random inspections if you think it's necessary, but that's as far as I am willing to go."

He turns to the Cardinal. "NOW THAT SAID, these are serious allegations against the Ministorum and I expect the Cardinal will answer them in due course...once he has composed himself."

As a reaction to the roll:

The colonel manages to take a hold of himself and asks for a few minutes out to take up his breath.

When he returns, visibly stressed still but apparently in control of himself again, he will proceed to make a detailed presentation of the suspiscious mutations.he believed to have found that would match a Genestealer cult, and how he learnt on Inamorta that Genestealers a'd their cultists come disguised as immigrants, merchant men, refugees, or settler's from their homework to infect others, so that it is almost certain that with their presence in thz sector, they will be their sooner or later - or already.

He also gives his excuses for his lack of decorum, but calls the governor a reckless for not being willing to take the necessary measures, and still ask for the entire population to be subjected to the test.

In his single-minded stubbornness due to paranoia, Loisy doesn't take into account that this is not feasible at the pace he wants, and will need convincing to understand this and accept.another protocol tha' his.

Administratum business

Friedrich von Gaussenberg receives the report from his fellow clerks with rather... mixed feelings. It might have just been an accident, but if not, this might mean A LOT of trouble. He probes a little deeper to find out if there was a message found on the corps and if so what happened to it. He assumes that Adolphis was just processing it when he died, so it must have been somewhere. If possible he wants to check if a physical copy left Adolphis workplace and if said copy got lost or if there was a longer time where it was unaccounted for, he wants to have the names of everyone present at that time in the building. He pulls whatever strings he can to get behind all that, still doubting that this was merely a coincidence, as the Administratum usually wasn't THAT incompetent.

From what transpired so far, he releases the message he stored to the governors office, but adds a message explaining why it was delayed so long and that he himself is quite suspicious of this "accident" that led to the delay. He warns the Governor that some foul play might be involved and that the secrecy of the contents of the message might have been compromised. If that is at all possible to see, the governor should realize that von Gaussenberg hasn't tampered with or decoded the message.
Friedrich himself doesn't forward the copy to the inquistion... yet, but adds it to a stash of information that gets instantly delivered there should he too have an "unfortunate accident" like Adolphis. He also keeps a copy for himself just in case he gets a bit more experienced with encryption in the future...


___________________________________________

Loisys witchhunt

Only grasping the sheer size and logistical problems of Loisys plans after the Governor points them out again, von Gaussenberg rubs his chin and mentions "None the less the Colonell has a point. I don't know about the nature of these "genestealers", whatever that is, but I gather this is some kind of infiltration that can be proven by medical examination?" he sends a questioning look to Loisy

"If so it seems prudent to me and not that much of a stress on our ressources to at least test the higher echelons of bureucracy, military and ecclesiarchy. Just so that everyone can sleep a bit more peacefully. And we could include a mandatory thorough examination before promotion into any rank with true decision power, which should still be a handable scale. Maybe one day this would even be possible as part of the recruitement process and on every arriving refugee and settler, but I assume that would be a gargantuan endeavor."

He turns over to the Techpriest 01 "A question your excellency: do the STCs available to our manufactorums by the grace of the Machine god by chance include designs that would make it possible to run a quick test on someone touching a device or delivering a blood sample? We could - in due time - modify part of the infrastructure to only work if one runs such a test. I imagine for example modifying the ATMs which pay out the worker wages so that a quick blood sample has to be drawn. If that would be possible we could check a significant proportion of the population every month without to much effort on our part. Mind you it would take years to set this up I believe, if such a device exists at all."

(Loisy is satisfied to have gained Gaussenberg agreement as he knows who makes the administration turn in here, although he would still have loved an even more thorough stance.

Loisy had long mentionned prior to these events that he fought Genestealers on Inamorta in the last 20 years I assume, so they would have heard that from him at some point, although probably vaguely)

The Council Meeting: [Adding Some additional NPCs to Make it More Interesting]

The Tech Priest nods her head after a time. "It is not beyond our knowledge. Though it would require some amount of time...and an infusion of resources."

Meanwhile the Bishop finally speaks out, losing his patience.

"These are outrageous and false accusations coming from the Colonel. Some of our Holy Priests are treating the cancerous tumors of the sick and dying. Is that what you meant when you accused us of abetting mutation? I could quote you at length numerous theological texts from the most renowned saints and the works of the Holy Cardinal himself, all of which agree, cancerous tumors are NOT illicit mutation.

"We also find it suspicious how the Mechanicus stand to gain even more resources from this manufactured crisis. We have our own suspicions of some of your practices, don't we Cardinal!" He sneers in response. But unlike the Colonel we won't air them here. No, not without proper evidence.

01 stares back coldly. "I only wish to assist the Lords of this World. I agree though, you should not make accusations without evidence...or imply them."

The Bishop sneers again then turns his attention back to the Colonel as he makes a plea to the Cardinal and the others present.

"Your Excellency, the Cardinal. It was clearly a mistake of you to allow the city enforcers to fall under the control of this imprudent Colonel. I beg of you. Move the Council for a Vote to restore the Enforcer's to the control of the Ministorum!"

Loisy shiuts them all shut with his thundering voice, a rocky voice uses to issuing commands, and slamming his fist on the table. He proceeds to show the spy pics again, where, in his mind it is absolutely evident that these are no cancerous tumors, but obvious mutations. Besides, the bishop's priests are not Medicare doctors and they can't say anything about it.

However, Loisy adds : prove me wrong. Let the medical do the checking I demand, and prove me wrong. I'm more than willing to admit I was wrong if that means this world is safe. Unfortunately, as we say already 10 years prior, it most probably isn't.

Loisy obviously voted against, but in his enraged head, come ideas about how he could dispose of such arrogant traitor as the Bishop... Because what else could he be, but a traitor? But one of his body guard exfiltrates him for "counsel" before he loses it again and executed the cardinal on the spot. Hopefully, in 10 years, the enforcers have also become more Kallenes than ever as he applied the same treatment as he did to the PDF, and the loyalty of a fair few is somewhat tied to his person.

Loisy will have to reach for his mecanicus ally, while un-knowing that ironically, he will be consorting with a heretek.

The Governor takes a moment to survey the situation, keenly looking to placate the various factions.

"I see two proposals before us. One proposal to enhance the inspection of our citizenry for illicit mutation with the help of our friends the Adeptus Mechanicus. And the other, to bring back control of the city enforcers into the hands of the Ministorum...for the sake of a balance of arms so that one man does not have too much power."

"Both seem reasonable proposals. I would consider enacting them both."

He looks to Graussenberg. "What do you think friend?"

Later on That Night

Back at his PDF HQ: The Colonel's advisors brief him of a planned raid on a Ministorum compound deep within the proto hive. "This is where we think they're hiding the mutants. If move quick, we can seize the initiative, get them on their backs, and retake the initiative on the political front as well. We just need your assent my Lord. And, if the answer is yes, will you join the assault in person?"

The Colonel goes through the pict view captures on the data slate, which were provided by undercover PDF operatives on the ground. He can see what appears to be a Medicae facility operaing under the purview of an order of Ministorum clergy on the surface. Paramedics appear to be transporting medical supplies and injured into the building. However, further pictures reveal the building to be teeming with very obviously mutated individuals, many of which appear to be extremely well armed. It's hard to tell whether the mutations are natural, warp spawned, or from a xenos taint, but they are definitely NOT cancer patients.

[OOC: Good stopping point for now. Let's wait for our friend the Cardinal to catch up before we go further!]

Von Gaussenberg listens intently to Magos 01 and seems pleased that such a detection technology at least exists. He adresses the high Tech Priest as well as the governor on this question "I have to admit that the Administratum does not have the funding available right now to set this into motion, but as our esteemed Mechanicum representative mentioned, this will take some time anyway. And from my limited knowledge of the threat it won't go away anytime soon. So on the issue of setting up an automatic inspection of the citizenry I would propose that the Enginseers of Magos 01 and my Administrators get together and begin setting everything up and planning the integration of bioscanners into critical infrastructure installations and set this into motion as soon as we have the adequate funding again. So likely in a decade or so.
I will mention though that should any of the other council members be willing to shoulder the task of setting up and improving the space port, this would free the necessary fundings to start the scanner installation now." here he looks over to Cardinal Richemont specifically. This wasn't his prefered way of doing it, as Gaussenberg would favor having a hand in the space port himself, but for the colony as a whole it might be the best that way. And as there was a big potential for wealth and riches in interplanetary trade he suspects the Cardinal would be quite interested to get in, especially if that meant to keep the Administratum out.

"Should another Lord offer his assistence I would happily provide plans how to set the space port up in the most infrastructure effective manner. If he or she agrees to do it that way there would be no reason for the Administratum to further interfere in Starport business in the future." which basically says: do it my way now, setting it up for the good of the colony before your own and I let you have that bone in the future. Do it your way and I might be shouldering my way in there too the next decade. So as much an olive branch as a mild threat.




On the second motion of the Governor von Gaussenberg looks between Loisy and the Bishop, both enraged and adamant on their positions and replies "I beg excuse me, but security concerns are really not my strongsuite. Whatever council I can provide would merely be the ramblings of an old man. But from a laymans perspective it seems prudent to at least somewhat spread the control of the security forces to make it harder for an enemy to infiltrate it. From Colonel Loisys reports, these "genestealers" seem to usually operate in that way. Maybe we can compromise and build mixed teams of Enforcers under the Colonels Command assisted by Adpetus Ministorum abbots and priests. Both could watch out for each other for the good of the colony."
He checks the faces of the other lords for signs of agreement or defiance and adds "But as mentioned, I'm not the best councelor in this issue and will abstain from the vote, if there should be one."

The Governor nods his head in approval as a wry smile starts to form.

"So you abstain on the Bishop's motion, but you offer a motion in the alternative. Placing the Ministorum Abbots and Priests placed among the Enforcers. A most reasonable proposal indeed. You may make a wise Imperial Governor someday Gaussenberg, should that tragic fate ever befall you."

He looks around the room, now seeing that the Colonel had departed and the others remaining silent. "Not many votes left, but my vote is still here. So it will be enacted, along with the installation of these mutation detectors, should the funding materialize."

The Bishop nods his head. "I am sure the Cardinal would find this acceptable though I wish it went further. That Colonel is obviously not fit for duty. I certainly won't rest easily while he remains in charge of the PDF."

The Governor shakes his head. "The Colonel is a Lord of this world, granted sovereignty over a third of it by the Rogue Trader, so I would encourage you to tread lightly Bishop. These are delicate matters, better suited for your superior the Cardinal to weigh in on. Also, there is the matter of those allegations. I sincerely hope they are false. Perhaps you should go check on your flock."

The Bishop turns up his nose in annoyance. "It seems the meeting is at an end anyway. I will take my leave now." He bows to the Governor, Gaussenberg and the Cardinal.

The Tech Priest 01 nods as well. "I will begin my research at once....good evening." She also leaves.

After the Meeting

private conversation with the governor

private conversation with the governor

Richemont was content to watch the two heavy-weights battle it out in front of the Governor. The Colonel was obviously unhinged, and him showing it worked to his advantage. The fact that the Administratum supplied the answer that the Cardinal wanted only made things sweeter.

In his mind, of course the lower orders helped the mutants and the unfortunate. That was how you sunk your hooks into their communities. If you always showed them the rod, you would be their oppressors. If you sometimes show them the wheat, you are their savior. The Colonel only seemed to know the rod, allowing the Ministorum to be the savior of the people.

The Colonel made-up the command of the PDF, but was not the PDF made up of the citizens? The citizens that knew that the Ecclesiarchy did more for them than the PDF did? The trick was going to be to stay close to the people, as they were the backbone of power here on St. Bonafactious.

Investments
1 Food
1 Spaceport (Edited- From Manufacturing to follow-up on von Gaussenberg's plan)
1 Religion

After the Meeting
As the meeting drew to a close, the Cardinal approached Adept 01 in order to set-up a tour and visit of the Manufacturums that he was sponsoring. This would give himt he cover he needed to meet with the Adept 01, and begin to separate them from the Colonel and to take measure of the Tech-Priest. Traditionally, their two factions were rivals more than friends, but they could serve as a powerful counter-weight of force if needed.

Power extended from the barrel of a gun. Truth. But who controlled the soul that could pull the trigger?

The atmosphere was heavy with strain and impatience to act. The carefully planned raid was unfold right before Loisy's eyes, a plan perfect, every detail covered by his team of veterans, the skills of which in manhunts and raids had been honed by decades of practice.

Loisy trusted his men totally. He knew every fibre of them breathed for the sake of keeping the imperium safe, and he knew that if they had set up such a plan, it is that they too believed in it's rightouness. However, one thing bothered Loisy.

Not military - no, their planning was peerless-, but politically. Loisy was a man sure of his own rightouness as well, and he loathed to attack a ministurum place. But he felt this much: he had no choice before the corrupt priest sieze more forces, and start pushing their advantage further. This was a ploy he had already acknowledged to be in use by Genestealer cult's if nothing else -his very nemesis and trauma.

And Loisy thought for a second: he would be the traitor in this matter if he acted solely on his own. It would not be percieved as safekeeping, but rather as a coup... But Loisy counted his allies. The governor? No, certainly not. He was too mild, and this had probably something to hide, be it personnal interests or even being accompliced with the tainted. The cardinal? He was too eager to protect is bishop. The mecanicus? Yes, of course, but they were already in his pocket of sorts, and everybody would think of a common ploy, a common coup.

Only one remained, the one that didn't infringed, supported his policy. The one he never thought he would judge the least encline to betray - von Gaussenberg.

Loisy was brought back to the room by his sidekick Capitaine Laforêt: What say you, Colonel? Do you authorize this raid?

Loisy shook is head: not yet. Make everything ready, and count me in, but first, send an enforcer summon to Von Gaussenberg, I want to have a word with him on this whole matter...

As for the raid, I want the least casualties possible, only open fire to terminate a threat, but I want pics, captives, and proofs plenty. Remember: our goal is to expose the corrupt, throw them low from their ranks, and raise awareness that mutants - most probably Genestealers - are getting out of hand. We seek neither to coup, nor to wantonly kill. But that justice be shown, and our determination to have it delivered whatever the odds known to all. But we are not in a mutiny, am I clear? I want them all dead as much as you, I'd hang the bishop now if I could, but I have got a feeling that this craven might be smarter than he looks... But if - and I doubt it not- he is found guilty again, then no mercy will be shown and we will cull these planet from the enemies of man as we did earlier. Trust me.

-Crystal clear, Sir.

However, should the resistance be more than we anticipated, especially if the mutants have already banded together or are a Genestealer cult, I want a quick response force readily to depart and all soldiers on warfooting. Aerial and artillery support should be ready to dive in if matters show signs of escalation.

-Roget that, Colonel.

And so everything was made ready, as the Colonel waited for the summon to be received and hoped that Von Gaussenberg would show up. The summon itself was very vague, and asked only for a routine document checks to be carried out at the PDF HQ... But Loisy had much to say.

(So, Pyro, are you coming?)

[Loisys summons]

Von Gaussenberg replies positively to the summon, agreeing to rearrange his busy schedule to make room at the proposed day and time. He does ask though, if it would be possible to pair this meeting with the medical examination he agreed to undergo, as he was a busy man and that would make effective use of his time.
He is at least mildly concerned if going to Loisy was the best of ideas, especially as he himself could not count on an own force or even a real bodyguard and the Colonel seemed pretty tense currently. But on the other hand: if Loisy wanted him dead, he wouldn't be able to escape the man even if he hid in his Administrator office, so what was the point. About 5 minutes before their scheduled meeting, an armored limousine arrives at the PDF headquarters and von Gaussenberg exits, only accompanied by an assistant and two other high Administrators that he also convinced to get their medical checkup on this occassion to get this over with. A show of trust and cooperation that he hoped would not go unnoticed.

He lets himself be escorted to whatever meeting room Colonel Loisy was in to hand him the requested documents, fully expecting this to be about something else entirely.

One Day After the Council Meeting

. Oddly enough, no patients are observed leaving the facility either.

The Cardinal's hidden information:



After the night of the meeting, the tension seems to drain from the air of the proto-hive as life continues on as normal for most of the citizenry.

The Governor follows Gaussenberg's advice and sends an Astro telepathic signal to the Astra Militarum sector command. This results in even more delay of the delivery of Lemon Russ tanks, but at least ensures the shipment will arrive safely.

The Cardinal is able to arrange for a private meeting with Tech Priest 01 in a secluded underground vault deep beneath a sprawling manufactorum. The Cardinal is able to patch things up between the two factions.

"Our alliance remains strong Cardinal as it has for the last 10,000 years. Is there anything else I can assist you with today?" The Tech Prist says.

Meanwhile another meeting is taking place at PDF HQ between the Colonel and Gaussenberg. Will anything come of it?

"Greetings, von Gaussenberg!"

Loisy greeted the official with a military salute, and ushered him in. As soon as he had entered, the giant of a Kallenese that served as one of Loisy's bodyguards closed the door, while the others made Von Gaussenberg's own bodyguards wait outside. The Kallenese were serious, but relatively friendly, and started talking lightly with their counterparts.

"Leave the documents in their pocket, I have summoned for way bigger matters." Loisy wouldn't take any detours. He drew the reports, proofs, and pictures he had of the hospital. Were it was obvious that mutants ran rampant, and the members of the clergy were doubtlessly identifiable. There was foul play, it was undeniable.

Loisy waited a second for Von Gaussenberg to take a full glimpse of the most recent evidence.

"Comrade, I will make myself clear. The mutant threat is growing with the participation of the munistorum. I have got my own suspicions, but I can't rule infiltrations into imperial institutions by mutants. That you already know.

We must take immediate action. I am already poised to act. But I want you to now what we are about to commit to, so that none can put my loyalty to the imperium in question, just as our willingness to carry out whatever is.necessary. But this is no coup. And once the evidence has been gathered, I will need your help as well to tell the guilty from the innocent apart. To make sure justice is rendered properly. Vanquishing the munistorum eagerness to cover up itself.

What say you, comrade? I am all ears."

PDF-HQ


von Gaussenberg does not seem surprised at all, as the Colonel mentions that this meeting is about something else entirely and nods, before he listens intently what the Officer has to say. Overall he seems quite composed, but it is also obvious that he is very concerned about this evidence, that he sees for the first time. A faint little wiring sound can be heard as a mechanism in one of his eyes seems to adjust and zoom in while he inspects some of the pics taken more closely. He also asks various questions, about the number of facilities they have uncovered, how much they are spread and the like, but always in a tone that implies he would accept if some of that is on a "needs to know" basis.

Afterwards he leans back in his chair for some moments, contemplating what he has heard and the wider implications of that. Finally he answers: "I fully agree with you, Colonel, that there is something very concerning going on in this facility. And the evidence that some Ministorum personell is involved is rather conclusive and frightening. But I hope you can forgive me if I pray that you are wrong about how high up in the Ecclesiarchy this goes. I can offer you this: if you would agree to give me copies of some of this evidence, I can use my contacts to forward it to the Inquisition. I can't call myself an associate - hell I have no idea if they even know who I am - but I'm pretty sure they will at least have a look at it. It will be to long until they can interfere, but it would be an important measurement to ensure that your actions are not... taken a miss. We could at least proof, that we did not take this threat lightly and informed the institutions in charge.

Now about the crackdown itself: I will support you if you act on this facility, gather more evidence and possibly witnesses, but for the sake of our world, don't outright raid the Ecclesiarchy on your own. They are a powerful force indeed, and we cannot risk gaining their ire, which we, as a planet will, if some of their members get hurt or even just offended unjustly. Wait for some kind of order, be it from the governor, the Astra Militarum HQ, the Inquistion or whatever. Not just for your own sake, but for the sake of our people.

And as far as me helping: The Administratum will act for the benefit of the imperium, this colony and its people, in that order. I doubt, that we have the ressources or ability to really help you pick the righteous from the wicked, but we will serve to the best of our abilities."
Von Gaussenberg scans Loisys face for signs of what this does in his mind and if the Colonel really acts out of concern for the colony and Imperium or for his own gain.


"On a possibly related note... Can I be so frank as to ask for a personell favor? Recently I was made aware of the death of one of my Administrator clerks, named Adolphis. An accident, obviously, yet the circumstances of it make me fear that foul play might be involved. And that is definitly one area where I would sleep more peacefully knowing I proded as hard as I could to see if it was really just an accident."
He shares most of the information he has on it with Loisy, specifically that the clerk was handling a message from the High Astropath, and that its delay might have put Astra Militarum personell at danger on other worlds. But the exact details and that it was meant for the Governor, he would prefer to keep confident. He does mention the spider servitor though.
"Could you do me the favor and have one of your investigators have a look into it? Just to double check?"

The Cardinal nodded at the Tech-Priest. He had ensured all of his Sevitors and Cherubs had been dismissed before continuing. He did not want any record of this verbal contract to exist outside of whatever techno-sorcery the Tech-Priest had replaced his holy body with.

"There are a few small matters I wish to entertain you with besides the output of our luxury goods to the people.

As you know, I have devoted more resources to the building of a Starport. Afterall, if we are to be a spiritual hub for the sector, we must accommodate pilgrims to the Cathedral. Of course, control of the Spaceport and access to it will be of interest. I propose that the facility be under Adeptus Mechanicus protection as an off-set to the power of the PDF. After all, if we control the logistics we can control Colonel Loisy. I will align with you in the Council on matters pertaining to the Spaceport, and I imagine von Gaussenberg will be eager to see it built as well.

Of course, I ask a few small favors in return for such oversight and support. First, I would like you to make sure that certain Ministorum aligned trading houses get a suitable piece of the construction contracts, to verify our arrangement.

Secondly, I need to understand the nature of the threat on this planet after we crushed the Trade Union. I understand your network and agents have provided you with some baubles captured from their ranks. I wish to confirm if their threat is Xenos in origin, and the nature of these Xenos. I am sure one as learned as yourself has more to share.

Lastly, I would like access to the Bio-scans that Loisy and von Gaussenberg are building. I feel that a blunt instrument like Loisy may not see the opportunity that the results could provide. I am sure as the builder, you can provide some interesting results data, specifically names?

Before one can purge an enemy, one must understand that enemy. Do we have an arrangement Tech-Priest?"

The Cardinal smiled from beneath his bushy eyebrows. He was asking a lot in exchange for "control" of the spaceport. Even if the AD-Mech controlled the port and acting as security for it, he ultimately would control access to and from the facility with his own agents if needed.

It was a dangerous game, but all parties had to be in-balance. No one could have a monopoly on force, or someone could get too greedy. Von Gaussenberg controlled the power network and utilities, without which the logistics of the world would be in turmoil. He would control the food supplies and access to the Spaceport for imports/exports. Even if Loisy held the guns, he did not have a way to feed or maintain his troops without von Gaussenberg and his support. With control of the Spaceport, he could also ensure no outside interference could tip the balance.

Imperial control was balancing on a three-legged stool. If one leg got too big, the whole thing would topple. If any leg got too small, the same. Balance was the key.

Tech Priest 01 doesn't reply immediately. Blinking lights and whirling noises indicate some complex calculations are taking place. One...two...three full seconds later the Tech Priest replies.

"Our Archeo-scriptors theorize that this world was first settled around the time of the Great Crusade. It was subsequently destroyed during the Horus Heresy. However remnants of the earlier civilization...ruins are quite prevalent. Archeo-tech hunters come to us from far and wide, seeking to sell their archeo-tech. Most of it is...non useful. However much of it has proven valuable. For instance...the re-discovered slumbering machine spirits of thousand year Lemon Russ battle tanks...and the knowledge to restore them."

"I remember there was once a trade union here. And I remember after they were broken apart some of their number became treasure hunters and we had dealings with them. However, I can't recall that the dealings were of any consequence."

The Cardinal picks up that the Tech Priest is choosing to conceal information.

"Your requests are reasonable. We will attempt to implement. In exchange, will you bury these rumors you have heard?"

Meanwhile

Within another day, the Ministorum compound looks completely abandoned. The PDF operatives search the building and find nothing though they find signs that the mutants (and perhaps the priests that helped them) fled through an access way tunnel.

The PDF Commanders grumble in frustration. "It seems that the mutants and heretics exploited the Colonel's hesitation to make good their escape. Gakkin politics." One Captain is heard muttering as he scrolls through his data slate.

Loisy considers what Von Gaussenberg tells him and what he asks for. He knows that in the meantime, the strike is actually already about to begin, but he must first secure the deal before they are allowed to dice in at his final command.

To him, Von Gaussenberg and himself could work together on this. While he still resented somewhat that he seemed to shun from confrontation that much, Loisy understood that he would nonetheless try his best to combat the threat that Loisy did percieve... But Loisy would not be afraid to take on the munistorum directly if that proved necessary.

Loisy, sure of his own rightouness, is accepts the offer of contacting an external institution, and in fact, he offers to make a second report to the Imperial Guard as well. However, he asks Von Gaussenberg to maybe not tell the governor as he is not sure yet we're his true loyalty might lay either.

Finally, Loisy sensed that maybe, just maybe, the enemy he chases so viciously could very well be the same who committed treachery against the administratum agents. And he would gladly help find out.

This way, both would get endebted and tied to each other, stained in the matters of one another, unable to cry out to other members of the council for fear the other party could denounce them in turn. Loisy knew he hadn't got the political acumen to get much better position than this, and agreed to get it while he could.

"However... If the munistorum gains access to my enforcers, they may thwart both my searches and my attempt to help you... Better they stayed out of the security business, Von Gaussenberg... But I will do all I can to help you out."

With the deal thus struck, Loisy gave the order, and a screen lit up in a corner of the room for both officials to watch... And be appalled as they realised the target had left...

Loisy looked at Von Gaussenberg and matured: " so we can't know yet what they were doing there. But this has got to be something they don't want uncovered... Can we agree that we at least can rest assured that treachery is indeed at play, comrade?"

The failure of this perfectly planned raid was appalling, but at least, with an eyewitness of the thoroughness of the cleaning up and escape, Loisy knew that in some way, he was still amply justified in his fear, and not just a raving lunatic.

Von Gaussenberg listens intently to Loisys thoughts and nods agreement, even though a sliver of doubt remains regarding the scale of this kabal. Von Gaussenberg still hopes that the sickness has not yet spread that much and that the Colonel sees ghosts, but for now it seems prudent to err on the careful side.
"One last thing though, as I consider myself an honest man when it comes to forging alliances: you should always be aware that my loyalty to the Imperium and the Administratum is above all else. If I receive orders from higher ups that conflict with our agreement, I will act according to them. And I fully expect the same is true for your loyalty to the Astra Militarum" That is not a threat or anything, but Friedrich wants to set the table straight.

Regarding his control over the enforcers Friedrich nods again and mentions "That's why I tried to block the Bishops motion and threw them the bone to share patrols with your soldiers. They couldn't outright be refused, but they could not reject my proposal without loosing face. And that way control of the enforcers remains in your hands, especially after this crisis is over. I believe it is for the best that way."



As the video feed from the raid appears on the screens, von Gaussenberg watches with anticipation and a certain amount of disappointment and concern, as the facility turns out to be empty. When they find the accesstunnel though he raises his tablet and beginns screening through lots of charts and reports at a mindbogling pace. "Wait a moment colonel, can you patch me into that screen for a moment?" he throws a three dimensional display of an elaborate, complicated tunnel system on the screen. Sewers, drainage canals, subway tunnels, maintenance holes... A green glow marks the position of Loisys enforcers. Gaussenberg moves his fingers above the buttons, manipulating the display, twisting, turning and zooming it to get a better view. While more and more of the 3 dimensional net is removed as "impossible" or marked red as "unlikely, 79%" and the like, he comments absentmindedly
"remove tunnels below 2 feet diameter..."
"remove parts above 120 degrees celsius..."
"mark paths flushed with acidic waste..." and the like.
He taps into camera feeds of maintenance servitors along the way, some of which have recently detected movement and mutters about fluctuations in water pressure of peripherous pipes...

A complicated business but in the end he can narrow their escape route down to only two likely routes, that both lead deep down unto the forming protohive. "Can you link your men into this feed? Maybe they can still catch up with them... or at least get an idea where they hide..."




________________________


Another word regading this turns actions: I mentioned that von Gaussenberg "greases the cogs", again investing in interplanetary comms. I thought a bit of what he wants to achieve this way and would like to work on two things:
1. Keep a lid on our planets expected tithe rate. I don't want to cheat the Imperium of anything and Bonifatius Reach will do its part, but I want the Imperium to say "Wow, they delivered 1000 tons of grain! What I nice and loyal colony that outdoes our expectations!" and not "Meh... only 1000 tons of grain. Those dirty traitors are not even doing the bare minimum".
2. Help smooth the live of our Military, PDF as well as Imperial Guard. Take care that when they order tanks and weapons from the Munitorum, they'll get them, try to keep them away from suicide missions, ensure that promotions go through smoothly, maybe even that some of them can retire back home one day etc.
I don't want to wrestly control from Loisy, but I want to achieve that the soldiers and officers know that the Administratum of Bonifatius Reach has their back and is on their side.

All very admirable goals, should you survive the present crisis!]

The video feeds show a veritable horde of heavily armed mutants, robed figures (Priests perhaps?) and normal every day civilians filing through the access way tunnel. But eventually the video feeds cut out. Gaussenberg is able to deduce that the mutants could have re-emerged onto the surface from any number of access ways. But considering how many mutants there were...it seems unlikely. Re-emerging onto the city surface would attract too much attention.

The only likely explanation was that the mutants went further underground, deeper into the sublevels and sewerways that criss crossed the city. Once underground the mutants and their supporters could re-emerge literally anywhere. Or perhaps they'd just stay undergound?

Confronted with this information, the PDF starts planning to go into the tunnels and clear out any mutants or heretics they find. They inform the colonel that it will take at least one day to put together the plan and get the logistics in place. Raiding a building was one thing, but going into the tunnels without a very clear plan would be suicide. Thankfully no Commissars were around to suggest otherwise.


Meanwhile...A Day Later

The Cardinal receives an encrypted message via a courier servitor it is from the Tech Priest 01.

Message: "An Enforcer...Probator Mackin has made inquiries with one of our forges about the death of an Administratum Clerk. We've given him what he asked for, but he needs to accept the evidence and end his inquiries. Can you persuade him to do so?"

The Cardinal also Meets with the Bishop who Provides some more Information

"The Order of the Emperor's Infinite Mercy. They serve your purpose. But a radical off shoot of them has veered too far and earned the ire of the Colonel. Even these radicals were able to serve your purpose though. They proved to be a useful stumbling block for the Colonel and as a result we now have our spies embedded among the enforcers.

But these radicals have outlived their purpose now. It is time to publicly denounce them as heretics."

And Finally:

[Gaussenberg, please describe how you plan to deliver your message to the Inquisition. This will involve either a person or servitor traveling to the Astro Telepathica. The only viable route are the long winding tunnels and lots of stairs which wind their way up the inside of a mountain to the Astropaths. There might be something interesting that happens next...]

Loisy meets with his officers, but all the faces of those, including the colonel, are grim. They realise that now, the ecclesiaechy has been doing a mess up of a scale truly threatening, as the creation of an underhive is a ticking time bomb that will inevitably come back to hunt them.

Out of spite and outrage, Loisy's goal has now changed. He knows he hasn't got the ressources.to.tackle.neither that problem, nor chop down the traitors' heads right here and there.

Debates continue, surprisingly cold blooded, as the officer discuss the best course of action throughout the night. At dawn, they have come with the following plan:

1- send the most suspicious enforcers into suicide "probe mission". This will allow to get rid of them and make a point at the council that the threat created by the negligence of the munistorum is indeed dire. With the state of underground communication, setting up this scene is a child play, as they'll dive in and suddenly get cut off, to be either accused of treachery and/or left to rot... With the added benefit that showing the cardinal's enforcers yet again turned their coat is a clear sign that something is amiss in this institution...

2- plan raids only to collect further data on anything that could further prove their dangerousness and accuse the munistorum.

3-give Von Gaussenberg a host of Kallenese operatives to make sure the message he bears to the inquisition will be indeed delivered.

The general gist is to force institutions greater than the munistorum to get involved in surveilling their schemes. Should the plan work at its very best, then Loisy could maybe even hoe to take the head off the shoulders of a fair few traitors, or even try to have new munistorum officials appointed -sole that would actually uphold the faith in the Emperor, for once... Von Gaussenberg being instrumental in this, he will receive next to any help he asks for.

Loisy will also ask for a meeting to consort again with the mecanicus. While he can't know what they're up to, he'll littéraly try to bribe them by sheer fact that should they come under attack or accusations by the munistorum, that generally doesn't like them, their best bet is on Loisy... Better keep me alive and powerful.

Delivering the message

Von Gaussenberg is thankful for the armed escort Colonel Loisy provides, yet thoughtful on how to get this important message delivered the right way. It's still hard to tell who is and who is not involved in this. Meanwhile it is more important that the information does get delivered than it is important that no one else gets it. Therefore he goes for a double approach. One copy of the evidence is packed into a well sealed, armored document case, which is transported by one of his clerk that he trusts to carry out his duty faithfully (but whose loss would not be too great for the functionality of the Administratum). That clerk will deliver the message, protected by the Kallenese soldiers that Colonel Loisy granted him.

But he also makes a second copy of the evidence including instructions where to send it, which is "hidden" in between a gigantic stash of standard reports that he has to file and send to the Imperial bureaucracy. Tons and tons of tax reports, maintenance logs etc. the whole stuff usually just brought to the astropaths in large truckloads full of folders and send one by one on less busy days. This might not be the fast way to deliver it, but he hopes it will get unnoticed, as he doesn't talk about it to anyone.
He takes care that when either version arrives at the Astropaths, he gets a message so he knows if it was delivered. He himself stays at his Administrators office, hoping he will still be a pawn in this great game in the years to come.

The Cardinal nods at the Bishop regarding the new information.

"Do not worry my brother. They still serve the purposes of He on Terra, who guides and watches over his flock.

I will bring the information about these potential heretics to Loisy myself. Then, I would like OUR enforcers and agents to lead the hunt for these miscreants. Make sure they have the information they need to be successful.

For the Emperor."

With the Tech-priest's message, the Cardinal's dance card was going to fill up quickly.

First he needed to get an audience with Loisy to share the details about the heretic Priests. Their usefulness was at an end and it was time to look like an avenging reformer.

Secondly, he needed to meet with von Gaussenberg. The Tech-Priest's were hiding something, but he was not sure if it was a threat yet. The Brotherhood of Mars onside would be valuable, but it was unclear if it was worth covering for them yet.

He scanned through the updates on the Cathedral and missions. His geriatric and clawed hands signed off as needed. However, his mind was far from this basic task.

Von Gaussenberg and Cardinal Richemont

As he too is one of the Big Players on Bonifatius, Von Gaussenberg of course schedules a date for the two of them when Cardinal Richemont announces his wish for a private meeting.

Gaussenbergs office looks very organized, just as the man himself, but includes lots and lots folders and paperwork, lining the shelves.
Upon entering the Administrator points the Cardinal (and potentially bis assistants) to a small table with some decanters of expensive fine spirits. "May I offer you something your grace?"

ONE DAY LATER

The following events occur...

At the Mountain of the Astropaths. The messenger and his escorts make their way through the long winding corridors hollowed out from the mountain and arrive at the chamber of the Astropaths without incident. However when they get there, they discover that the entrance is blocked. They find that numerous maintenance workers are trying to clear the entrance to the Astropathic chamber, which has been blocked by some kind of structural collapse in part of the roof. The maintenance foreman explains that it will take another day to clear the entrance to the chamber but that they've been in contact with the Astropaths and their servants and there are no concerns for thleir safety.

Gaussenberg's Adept sends a vox message to Gaussenberg and asks him if he should wait at the entrance or return to the Administratum building.

In the Tunnels:

The City Enforcer's begin moving into the maintenance tunnels near where the mutants were spotted. After a few minor skirmishes with mutants and criminal gangs, the enforcers secure the main tunnels leading into the underhive. Thankfully, few casualties are reported.

Limited reconaissance finds that there is a large settlement in the underhive that appears to be heavily infested with mutant gangs, and likely the mutant group's base of operations.

The Castellan of the Enforcers recommends that these entry ways be heavily fortified with plasteel gateways before the operation moves forward. Doing so would help to seal off the underhive from the rest of the city. But it would also delay the operation somewhat.

Manufactorum 01:

The Colonel arrives at the entrance to Manufactorum 01, where Tech Priest 01 resides. Unfortunately, the scene is somewhat chaotic as all manner of enginseers, tech adepts, lex mechanics, servitors, and even a few of the elite Skitaari Rangers are blocking the entrance.

Eventually a Skitaari Captain approaches you:

"Colonel. My name is Captain Daedalus of the Skitaari Rangers. Unfortunately, you won't be able to meet with Tech Priest 01 today. She is unfortunately deceased. We are investigating the incident as a potential homicide."

"It will take sometime for the Mechanica to select a new leader. When one is selected I'm sure you will be informed."

Meeting Between Gaussenberg and the Cardinal:

[You all can set that scene and begin discussions]

The Colonel opens his eyes wide. Deceased? How come?

However, he couldn't really make a call about what had happened. The intricate politics of the mecanicus could be enough to get her killed. The mutants could be at fault. Or... The traitors' of the munistorum, not liking that they remain close to his side?

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about this. He turned around, saluted respectfully and assured them he was sorry for their loss, then left.

There were far more confortable matters to be taken in hand when he arrived at his HQ.

First, have the news spread and get into contact with the governor, Von Gaussenberg, and even the munistorum to so what they say or if they even are aware right now.

But secondly, and most importantly, his officers were asking for orders in the underhive.

Loisy reminded them that for once, they'd play around a bit themselves. The enforcers had to carry on. Yes, they would die. And that's exactly the point, because all of them were more or less aligned with the munistorum.

But he would gather as much intel as possible doing so, and make an argument that really, the action of the munistorum brought this world to the bring of becoming a mutant infested hellhole.

However, Loisy was not mad. Reinforcements were to be dispatched to precisely go, make there way to these tunnels, and secure them with plaststeel. The whole affair would put the blame on bad communications and an enemy far greater than emanticipated.

But what if they come back? They asked? What if they make it back and successful. Loisy grinned viciously: friendly fire happens.

[outside of his meeting with the Cardinal]

The moment von Gaussenberg receives the call from his messenger, he checks and doublechecks, if the statement of these "maintenance workers" is true or just a cover of some sinister forces. It is very suspicious that out of all times this could happen, the entrance the the Astropath chamber is blocked just now. Might as well be that these workers blocked it themselves and are waiting for a moment to attack his clerck and the escort. OK, that might be his paranoia speaking, but until he is absolutely sure that the entrance collapsed first and then these workers were dispatched and that they really are who the claimed to be, he advises his messenger to be very careful around them. He should also discretely inform the sergeant of his escort to be vary of an ambush by these workers, until Gaussenberg can signal them to be cleared. He wants them to wait for now, but they might as well wait somewhere, where they can defend themselves easily. Some kind of chokehold with lots of cover or however these military types called it. The Officer of the escort should know how to do this.

von Gaussenberg also makes a mental note, that something still has to be improved about their communications arrangement. It cannot be, that they are so easily cut of from the astropaths. What if some planetary crisis happens and they are unable to send distress signals off world for hours? Maybe a landline can be installed between the most important offices and the Astropaths or maybe even a secondary astropath choir should be established... but this will again cost ressources needed elswhere...

The Colonel:

The Skitarri Captain provides a bit more information:

"Cause of death appears to be from electric shock delivered to the Tech Priest's electrode connections while connected to the Noosephere communication network. However accidental death would be an extremely unlikely occurance. I can't say much more at this point, but we do have a person of interest though. That;s all I can say your Lordship. I'm sure the new High tech Priest will contact you when we have more information."


Gaussenberg: [Investigation Roll 2 successes]

Gaussenberg is able to confirm that everything is in order as far as the construction crew being legitimate and the structural failure was also something that actually happened. Apparently a tunnel maintenance servitor malfunctioned and started drilling in the wrong part of the wall, which led to the partial collapse of the ceiling.

As far as communication, Gaussenberg remembers that there is a Vox Uplink to the Astropaths, and a crude way to send a message through encryption (the old fashioned way, with radio codes) but doing so would be considered much more risky than the encrypted dataslate message held by your courier.

Back to the Colonel: The Ambush

On his way back to PDF Headquarters, the Colonel's groundcar comes to a stop as it finds itself ensnarled in a bit of a traffic jam while traversing an elevated highway.

Within moments the car becomes embroiled in traffic and is immobilized in all directions. Your driver becomes irritated and starts honking on the horn, but the cars are unable to move.

That's when you hear the loud crack of auto gun fire and the panicked scream and terror of civilians fleeing. Before you have time to do anything else, a round slams into your driver, killing him instantly. Glass shatters all over the vehicle. Your bodyguards are already out of the vehicle and immediately returning fire.


Through the panic and terror the Colonel is able to make out three masked gun men advancing through the crowd, firing bursts of autogun shells in your direction, about 24 meters away.

[You can just decribe the types of actions you'd take and then I'll make the rolls and narrate the result of the battle. Your weapons are las rifle, las pistol, and knife.]

[Example actions: Take cover, pull out las rifle, aim at target, fire]

[outside of the meeting with the Cardinal]

Friedrich von Gaussenberg sends the signal to his messenger clerk that the maintenance workers seem to be clean and to say as much to his escort. Yet they should still be on their toes as the whole timing of this accidents still seems very very suspicious.

He taps his fingers on his desk impatiently while he considers his options. He does not like this at all and his gut feeling tells him that the councellors lifes, maybe even the whole colonies existance might be on a knifes edge. Not only from internal foes but also depending on how his message is received by the higher ups. Wouldn't be the first time the Inquisition erred on the careful site and heavily decimated a harmless colony to guarentee the demise of supposed traitors. He also doesn't really like his chances should the knifes come out as he doesn't have a force of bodyguards or soldiers to protect him - and won't get any, as that would be a waste of ressources for personal matters, ressources that were meant for the advance of the imperium. Not a nice thought to cling on to.

After some tense minutes he decides to act according to his best conscience:
First he prepares a message to be delivered through the backup Vox Uplink to the Astropaths. He first asks them if they are OK in there or if they need medical help etc. Afterwards follows a message with the best encryption he can manage under the circumstances, to be delivered to what he hopes to be an adress in the inquisition that will ensure that it is at least read. The message does not include the evidence they have gathered, as he doesn't really trust the encryption, but at least the cornerstones of the current situation that he can vouch for:
- there seems to be a gathering of armed and well organized mutants
- they are supported by some personell that looks like they belong to the Ecclesiarchy, but he cannot confirm if they are and if so how high up this goes.
- the local military is on the hunt for them
- there was a series of "accidents" [mentioning Alloises demise that delayed a delivery for the Astra Militarum, the untimely destruction of the accessway to the Astropaths, the Mutants seemingly being tipped of before the raid] that seem highly suspicious. The loyal council is on it
- there was a workers union that has been supressed mentioning a "greater good"

He also ensures them that the Council and the Imperial Institutions are battling this threat. Finally he expresses his hope that the colony will endure and his conviction that they uncovered the taint before it can sink its roots too deep. His impression is, that the governor and the council are loyal and doing their best. But as a loyal servant he felt obliged to send this information forward. What evidence he collected will follow as soon as possible. Emperor be praised...



His fingers hover over the "send" button for a long time, fully knowing that he might spell Bonifatius Reach' death sentence by that. And that it is even more likely that this is his own, should anyone intercept and crack this message. But in the end he decides that his life and the lives of all the hundreds of millions of colonists mean little in respect to the countless lifes of imperial citizens. And that no price is to high to protect the Imperium. SEND

Afterwards he pulls out another tablet and scrolls through the CVs of those Administrators he had preselected for carreer advancement as he believed them to share his views on the hierarchy of loyalties, the right way to develop the colony and their personal competence, musing about who might be his successor, should the inevitable come to pass sooner then expected. He updates his last will, arranges everything for his succession and then gets a drink from his decanter, leaning back in his chair and listening to some bittersweet classical sonata, waiting for things to unfold.

Cardinal meeting with von Gauusenberg

"Thank you for the kind offer Adept Primaris, but I must decline. The Emperor's Business demands a clear head"

The Cardinal does not even take a seat. It was best to meet while standing, in order to get to the point.

"I have my doubts about the intentions of Tech Adept 01. I do not cast aspersions lightly.

During one of my tours of our mutual manufacturing interests, he asked a peculiar favor of me. That is what lead to me meeting with you today.

The Tech-adept asked me to interfere with an investigation of the death of one of your adepts. Of course, I played along but came to discuss it with you immediately."

The Cardinal had taken to travelling on his own, without his usual entourage of servitors and cherubim lately. His growing distrust of the Ad-Mech had seen him stripping himself of his usual ostentation and focusing on living, trusted servants. However, even they were not welcome for this conversation.

[spoilers]I am working under the assumptions that I do not know about the events regarding Loisy or Tech-Adept 01 at this point[/spoilers]

Cardinal meeting with von Gaussenberg


Von Gaussenberg nods regarding the clear head - it was an act of social curtesy anyway. "I hope you don't mind... I had a gutjob made a long time ago that removes the uncomely sideeffects of synthol..." he comments while he pours himself a drink.
He listens intently as usual to Cardinal Richemonts report and doesn't seem to much surprised. Internally he tries to calculate the probabilities between Techpriest 01 being responsible for Adolphis death and Richemont outright fabricating this to manipulate him, without coming to a satisfying solution. He sighes and decides to show at least some of his hand "In case you are not aware of the circumstances, the untimely demise of the clerk in question jeopardized a delivery of war material ordered by the Adeptus Munitorum, potentially endangering Astra Militarum personell. The main question remaining is: why does our esteemed colleague has a need to cover this up?"

He waits if the Cardinal - against his expectations - knows more about that or has some kind of educated guess before continueing "I'm inclined to...accept this loss for now. Accidents happen and I think I was able to smothen things with the Astra Militarum for now. I don't want to incite a conflict with our Mechanicus allies over something like this, not amidst a crisis... but I will remember. And everyone should be aware that we cannot afford to gain the Imperiums ire. All this business... the worker union, Loisys witchhunt, the mutants... this all won't matter at all if we fail to meet the demands of the Imperium." which is as much a statement as a friendly warning. In other words: von Gaussenberg is willing to look away in a lot of things the other power players do, as long as the obligations towards the imperium are met and the planets loyalty is not put into question. Something that might be interesting for Cardinal Richemont too.
"If you want you might as well capitalize on that. Feel free to mention to 01 that you talked me out of it and she has you to thank for it. Who knows, maybe there is something in for you." his tone implies that he really doesn't mind.

To drive the point home he asks "I hope your investments in our agricultural sector is going well? As you might imagine I am already considering the next steps for our worlds development and wanted to ask what you think about investing in the prometium fields found on the eastern continent. But I wouldn't want to... interfere with a fellow councellors business. I only care for the prometium to be extracted for our tithe and if some fellow determined investor wants to get his rightful share of wealth in the process I fully support that."
Which is again a pretty open statement in the direction "if you want to go into ressource extraction, I will stay out of it. All I care is us meeting our tithes. If you get rich in the process, good for you"

Loisy will make instinctive use of his military training: shoot back a volley, duck into cover, and shoit more volleys.

He will have his bodyguards and himself execute a retreat in by pair, with each pair supporting the other running towards the closest building or best shelter a short distance, then reverse roles, and so on and so in. Once on at the safest there could be, in reinforcements and that targeted and that by military standards, his closest captain will be the new PDF commander, should they not make it.

Lot of stuff,on paper, but that's really the description of it making it long as it'd actually take but a few minutes. I also assume that his bodyguards immediately reported back and asked for reinforcements as the elites that they are. He's using the las rifle the whole time.

Cardinal Richemont stroked his beard in thought. Von Gaussenburg was obviously laying out some "rewards" for him. However, the Adepts words about Imperium first rang true.

"I am starting to believe, that our esteemed Colonel Loisy may not be as unhinged as I first feared.

Our strategy of Bread and Circuses would have easily kept unrest to the necessary level to allow for our maximum advantage. That fact that it persists is.... unusual to me. In fact, it seems to be spreading, and as are ultimate mission is for the Glory of Humanity, this concerns me."

The Cardinal took a moment, to search for the right words. He had to tread carefully, as things were about to get delicate.

"Our own members of the priesthood often walk a line between intent and heresy. It appears, some in my own house have fallen to the side of Heresy when dealing with the Mutant." The Cardinal offers a data-slate on the Brotherhood that the Bishop had provided him.

"I intend to provide this to Colonel Loisy next. However, with the subterfuge our Tech-priest compatriots are involved in, I am beginning to fear that it is not just some wayward priests from my own church we will have to deal with. Hearing about their efforts around the Militarum and their ask to squelch the death of one of your own agents....." The Cardinal intentionally let the implication hang in the air.

"I am loathe to involve outside forces in clearing up these loose ends. It is best if the Council and the Governor can handle these issues."

"That is... concerning. But also kind of reassuring that the Bishop is still cooperating." von Gaussenberg comments on the evidence presented to him. "Of course one can never rule out that these are scapegoats to distract from the guilty." he massages the bridge of his nose "Damn, I'm not made for this. I'm an Administrator, not a spy or detective... All I want is bully around numbers and taxcodes until they make sense..." for a moment von Gaussenbergs 130 years are quite visible in the look on his face. But he seems determined to carry on to the best of his abilities.

"Colonel Loisy isn't unhinged, but he is... traumatized. Have you read his service file? After what he has gone through I fully sympathize with him 'seeing ghosts'. One should be very careful not to push the man to far. Or he will lash out like an animal fighting for survival. And maybe even against those that bring forth accusations against his Mechanicum allies. I believe it is too soon to give him another target for his paranoia with the Mechanicum. Not before we have hard evidence for treason there. So far all I have is one dead clerk and a minor hickup with our tithe that has been smoothed out. I won't risk pushing our best officer of the edge for that. Keep your evidence, collect more if it is possible, and present it to him when he believes to have tackled the foe at hand... At least that is my advice."

Regarding Richemonts suggestion to not involve outside forces von Gaussenberg sighs "One thing my decades within the bureaucracy has taught me is that it is futile to believe the usual 'well informed circles' would not be fully aware of what is going on here. Ignorant and oblivous perhaps, but not unaware. I would be surprised if that ship hadn't sailed long ago. Now if they decide to intervene or not, that is out of our hands. But we might as well try to get on top of things. If you agree I would forward the evidence you showed me regarding this radical sect of yours as well as your testimony about 01s wish to cover up the death of Alloises to these 'higher powers'. We might as well present us as reliable sources and witnesses while we are at it. If this colonial endeavor does fail, it can't hurt to look like the less suitable scapegoats within the government."

"Agreed, we will need to keep our eyes open on the Adeptus Mechanicus front. We will want to keep a close eye on what they are bringing in from off-world through the Spaceport. Did they ever complete the work on the bio-scanners?"

The Cardinal waved his hand as if to move onto new business,

"I have no doubt He on Terra and his appointed officers are aware. However, I do not want to give them the impression that we can not handle it. Perhaps it is time to stop looking forward for St. Bonafactious Reach and begin to look down at it instead?"

Either way, wheels beyond their view were in motion. He was only as good to his followers as he could deliver benefits to them. If the benefits stopped, his power would be eroded. However, it was better to have a single wafer than an empty hand.

"You mentioned Promethium Mining on the Eastern Banks. Perhaps instead of looking at future resources to exploit, we need to get the resources we have contained? That will take a group effort."

"The work on the bioscanners has only just begun. But you raise a good point. Should Loisy be indeed correct, this might be a reason for an enemy to infiltrate the Adeptus Mechanicus. And if so he - or it - might have shown its hand"


"I guess you are right that St. Bonifatius present is as important as its future, but one won't exist without the other. I find it hard not to have the long game in my mind, when I saw it being lost so often by mistakes made to seemingly deal with the present. Whole world have been ruined because they did not start to prepare for the future in time. But I will heed your councel and be grateful for it."

As the Cardinal mentions containing the ressources they have he inquires "What do you have in mind?"

[I'll write up an event at the meeting. Then when I have more time tonight I'll narrate the conclusion of the battle]

The Meeting

The lumens blank out inside the building and outside and then flicker back on. The air becomes un-naturally cold and you hear a loud guttural voice in the air, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

VASHTORR

Then you hear screaming from outside of the room followed by the loud slamming of something big into the door. You see splinters fly everywhere. Whatever is coming through that door will tear it apart in moments. From outside a panicked voice cries out.

"YOUR EXCELLENCY, ONE OF THE SERVITORS HAS GONE MAD. IT'S SPOUTED BLADES AND IS ATTACKING THE DOOR!"

Another person calls out.

"Guards Guards! Come forth! The Cardinal is in danger!"

[So now you all can either attempt an escape or prepare to fight the servitor, let me know what you plan to do!]

The Ambush

The Colonel gets out of the ground car and immediately takes cover behind the trunk of the car, compact las carbine at the ready. The advancing gunmen fire indiscriminately in his direction but miss.

For the next five minutes, the Colonel and his two body guards engage in a long drawn out gun battle with five masked gunmen amidst the cover of various ground cars.

During the battle, one of the Colonel's bodyguard's is shot and killed, and the Colonel takes a glancing blow to his flak plate. [1 shock damage]

But the gunmen are all killed in short order. Amazingly, the Colonel's calmness under pressure allowed him to take careful aimed shots at the gunmen, and at the end of the gunfight, he had good reason to believe that he killed four of them personally.

As the adrenalin starts to wear off, the Colonel hears the sound of an approaching vulture gunship hovering overhead and the sound of vox traffic confirms that it belongs to the PDF.

"Vulture Alpha 1 preparing to extract HVT"

The bodyguard moves in to protect the Colonel as PDF trooper repels down a rope and motions toward him.

"Sir, this area is not secure. We can get you to PDF HQ via the gunship."

[Nice rolling on behalf of the colonel. Cultists...not so much]

The Meeting

If this wasn't so scary, von Gaussenberg might as well chuckle about the correctness of his prediction. So this migh be it? Well, overall he should be able to stand before the golden throne with a relatively clear conscience. But maybe, just maybe, there was still some time for that. "QUICK! HELP ME!" he yells as he tries to push his heavy desk towards the door and block it. A feat to difficult for one man alone, but together, the Cardinal and the Administrator might just have a chance.

His room does have a window and a second door leading to a small balcony, but there was nowhere really to go from there beside a narrow window sill leading to the next balcony and von Gaussenberg does not really love his and Richemonts chances when it came to physical exercise. Should blocking the door with the desk not work, that would be his backup plan, but he still hopes they can buy time for the sentinels outside to kill the Servitor.

When the Servitor begins to break through, he would take some of his bottles with the highest percentages (mourning the loss of the fine amasec) and throw them at it, before pulling his small, ceremonial laspistol and firing at the thing, hoping to confuse it with fire.

Richemont chortled to himself, it looked like his suspicions about his own Servitors had been a correct one. Good thing he left them outside.

He followed vonGaussenberg's lead and said, "You don't have any concealed escape routes? I thought you planned ahead?

The Cardinal was not one for physical effort, he was getting a bit long in the tooth for that. His body creaked and groaned as he shuffled over and put what he could of his back into it.

Now, seemed like as good a time as any to start praying. "He on Terra, who art upon high. Grant us this day our daily protections from the heretic, the mutant, and the undesirable. Forgive our sloth, as we encourage the service of others....." Most of the time, his prayers were reflexive, but today they had a very urgent, personal tone to them.

As the Adept drew his pistol, the priest glanced around the room for anything he could use as a weapon.

"Touché" von Gaussenberg groans regarding the escape route as the two of them manhandle the desk towards the door somehow. "Can you bless these bottles? No idea if it helps, but you're a cardinal, we might as well try..."

Gaussenbergs office is unfortunatly pretty poorly equiped in the weapons department, but there is a pair of ceremonial sabres crossed at one wall and the curtain rod might serve as improvised spear

The Cardinal stumbled over to the bottles, quickly made the sign of the Aquila and raced through a blessing, only stumbling on a few words as he went. The Emperor protects, and that is what they needed right now!

"Great! So if you can see it, throw the bottles!" Gaussenberg comments while he tries to remember if he ever read about "Servitor Anatomy for dummies". As the thing seems to be possessed he doubts that a shot to the head or torso will kill it, but of it was a servitor once, it must have had some kind of powersource. So if he gets a shot of before being turned into minced meat, his priorities are to ignite the alkohol and then blow up its battery

Meanwhile...

"Sir, get in, we're legging it! A second chopper is inbound, ETA 2 minutes, to get your bodyguards off".

"Gladly, I knew I could only count on you Kallenes people in that mutant ridden hellhole of a dust all. Adjudant Leclerc, fecrh me these dead bodies and make sure they are delivered to the HQ via the next chopper, we'll meet again at the HQ."

The colonel rushes into the to the chopper and races towards the PDF HQ, on board, he caught the vox caster, and started ordering all PDF troops to rally to muster points at once and put all forces on war footing.

All other operations are to be halted.

Contact must be made immediately to all official - yes, including the ecclesiaechy- to report on the assassination attempt on Loisy. The governor is to be abducted and put into safety into the heavily defended PDF HQ, for fear he might be next.

Having calmly sent these orders away, adrenaline started to flow down and the realisation of what just happen threw him in a fit of madness, barely controlled by his bodyguards and captains trying to restrain him while he tries to have the imperial palace leveled with aerial bombardments, hopefully managing to knock him on his back long enough for him to come back his senses.

Now, Loisy, out of breath and deeply exhausted, reminded himself of the incident. For a moment, his ravings about the ecclesiaechy's mutant agents trying to get his head, the planning to strike back at these corrupt false priests, the calling of the inquisition, the reality of all he dreaded and of the cults, this all calmed for a moment. In fact, he thought, while the gunfight was ongoing, he almost felt more alive than he had been in years. All problems and suspicions cast aside, only he and his troops battling the enemy as he had, on the front line, on Inamorta, issuing commands with a thunderous voice, and recieving these almost enthusiastic reports and notes of understanding from his subordinates... Unfortunately, he seemed he had become a monster bred for war, and this thought saddened him, as he had tried to view himself as a balanced and faithful servant of the Empreror, and not a maddened warmonger.

None of his bodyguards dared to shake him awake from his reveries. They know their colonel that good, and they knew it was best to leave him alone for now. They had - in fact, as almost every soldier of Kallenes stock- deep respect and love for this fatherly figure, which they share to every generation of recruits. There sorrow in seeing their colonel in such pain was just as great as their fury and fear when the report came that someone tried to take his life.

As Loisy arrives at the HQ, his bodyguards take him to the medics and stand guard, waiting for their colonel to take things back in hand again.

Before he was taken by the doctors, he told: get me Von Gaussenberg as soon as possible. Contact his escort.

And the door shut.

(I'm assuming recovering from that will leave Loisy on the side for a little time in the grand scheme of things, as he will have to battle the trauma being awaken tenfold and get himself together, so he will try to see other actors while in the medical and stay here for a bit, trying to monitor things as best he can.)

 Pyroalchi wrote:
"Great! So if you can see it, throw the bottles!" Gaussenberg comments while he tries to remember if he ever read about "Servitor Anatomy for dummies". As the thing seems to be possessed he doubts that a shot to the head or torso will kill it, but of it was a servitor once, it must have had some kind of powersource. So if he gets a shot of before being turned into minced meat, his priorities are to ignite the alkohol and then blow up its battery

This whole scene is just making me laugh so much right now. Will have a post later tonight!

The servitor appears to be un-naturally changed. Whereas once it was a simple android, it now appeared as a horrific embodiment of evil.It's arms have been transformed into blades and it's face is a twisted effigy of the wicked Vashtorr.

Gaussenberg's laspistol strikes the maniacal servitor and it appears to do some damage to it's skull but the impact of amasec bottles does nothing. Then the servitor pushes its way through the door and let's out an un-natural scream.

The Cardinal somehow musters a bit of courage and charges in with his sabre. The blade clanks against the machine but does no visible damage. Then Gaussenberg steadies his hands and aims for the head.

The las shot strikes true and passes in and out of the warped creature's head. It slumps to the ground.

And then you hear the most wicked of voices coming from the creature. It's lips aren't moving but somehow words are coming out of it's face. It appears to be speaking to the Cardinal.

"All you had to do was listen to the Tech Priest. But now you've gone and fethed up all my plans. NOW DIE for it!"


The wicked creature lashes out with a long razor blade arm...but somehow, maybe by dumb luck, the Cardinal parries the blow and strikes back, decapitating the servitor and ending its reign of terror.

Astonished onlookers gaze upon the Cardinal in awe.


"His Holiness...has slain the deamon. Praise the Emperor...Praise the Cardinal!" One proclaims loudly and his sentiment is soon filled with racouse cheers.

PDF HQ: The Next 12 Hours

In the war room, reports continue to trickle in and are usually announced by some minor officer or another as new data slates are passed into the room via courier as a long day becomes a long night.

"All units mustering as planned. No attacks reported."

-

"Enforcers reporting good progress in the tunnels. Heavy resistance but it's uncoordinated and ill disciplined. Thank the Emperor casualties are light."


-

"Reported assassination attempt on Lord Gaussenberg and the Cardinal. The attempt failed, no casualties reported."


-"The Commissariat in Sector 42 reports the execution of a conspiracy of 12 traitors within our own ranks, supply division, depot 5. Apparently supplying the mutant skum with weapons and attempting to blow up the depot. A true disgrace Colonel. I can only hope they weren't Kellanese."

The next report brings a sigh of relief from everyone in the room and some clapping.

"Skitaari rangers report that the source of the threat has been identified and neutralized. I say again, primary threat has been neutralized."


The next report is offered by an officer in a hesitant halting voice.

"Sir...the Governor is confirmed dead. Killed by one of those malificent servitors."

von Gaussenbergs office

Friedrich is completely unaware regarding the further implications, as he has knowledge of Demons - let alone Vashtorr specifically. He leans to the wall for support as the adrenaline that pushed him through starts to wear of, thanking the emperor for his survival. And he doesn't mind Cardinal Richemont being praised as demon slayer, he sure was and it was hard to say what part his own shots played in that things demise.
Von Gaussenberg does have the clearance of mind though to immediatly call up his clerk in front of the Astropaths office "The Mechanicum Servitors have been compromised! Assume all Servitors in the vicinity to be hostile and protect the astropathic choir!"

The Aftermath:

After a few tense days, life starts to return to normal in the city. Apart from the Enforcer's slow and halting operation in the tunnels, no major incidents are reported anywhere.

Eventually a new Tech Priest, known as Mechandrite, announces himself to be the new leader of the mechanicum. Although it was still too soon to arrange a meeting of the council, Mechandrite brings a dataslate to Gaussenberg, the Colonel, and the Cardinal containing a full account of the Skitaari Ranger's investigation and subsequent action.

Timeline of Events leading up to Anomaly 01/5567256

T-10 standard years: Magos NOID secretly acquires *device* from artifact hunters.

*Device: Xenos Interstellar Probe. Origin. Tau Empire. Purpose: Spread hostile propaganda and turn Imperial worlds to serve mal intent. Contains: Limited Abominable Intelligence (AI). Modifications///Corrupted by unknown warp entity prior to arrival on our world.*

T-9 years: Magos NOID secretly begins to use the device's AI to assist him in restoring ancient archaeotech resulting in Forge 01 output increasing 225%.

T-9 years: Tech Priest 01 discovers the activities of Magos NOID but allows his work to continue in secret.

T-8 years: NOID begins experimenting with significant augmentations on local mutants, servitors, and even unaugmented humans.

T-7 years: NOID builds a small cabal of servants, which begin intersecting with and co-opting criminal gangs, mutant cohorts, and radical Ministorum Sect known as the order of the Emperor's Mercy.

T-5 years: NOID uses the AI to begin processing massive amounts of information on the city's infrastructurre and political power structure. Develops plan to play various factions against eachother and to plunge the world into chaos.

T-1 months: NOID uses a servo spider to push an Administratum Adept down a flight of stairs killing him, and compromising a critical message to the Governor.

T-7 days: Tech Priest 01 confronts NOID about his role in alleged murder of an Administratum Adept. NOID convinces her of his innocence and she agrees to help him cover it up until the Mechanicum's own internal investigation is concluded.

T-6 days: NOID sabotages entrance to Astropathic Chamber.


T-5 days: Tech Priest 01, facing continuing questions from a Probator (Enforcer Detective) prepares to acuse NOID of homicide. NOID initiates power surge which kills 01.

T-5 days: NOID initiates contact with warp entity, and launches coordinated assasination attempt against all major planetary officials.

T-5 Days: Skitarri Rangers breach NOIDS vault, and find NOID to have been completely corrupted into a warp spawn. Rangers terminate the abomination with extreme prejudice. The vault is later purge cleaned. Xenos/warp device destroyed.


With the threat abating, a new council will convene in a few days to select a new governor

Cardinal Richemont's hands shook as he read the report on the data-slate. It all seemed neatly tied up. There was only one small detail left unanswered by the Ad-Mech, what had happened to the Xenos artifact that had started all this madness?

He glanced up. The Governor was dead, the AD-mech were in disarray, and the Spaceport was being delayed.

He grab a different data-slate and checked on the progress of the Cathedral of ST. Bonifactius. The main Narthex and worship hall were complete, but the ornamentation and other key features were still a work-in-progress. Was a Cathedral to the Emperor ever truly done? It was like the work of the Emperor himself, always evolving and growing, he supposed.

The events of the past few days had made a few thing clear to the Cardinal. Heresy was ever present here on the frontier. The best way forward was to continue to grow via new pilgrims. The Colonel he could count on to maintain order, but with these events he could shift his concern for the Ecclesiarchy to the Ad-mech. Afterall, we expunged our own. However, allowing the Ad-Mech to control the Spaceport would rightfully be off the table now. His counter-balance to Loisy was severally weakened now.

Von Gaussenberg was always thinking two steps ahead for the colonies development. Therefore, he could follow the adepts lead there, and the man seemed willing to read from the same hymnal. That would free up the Cardinal's own resources.

The only matter left was who to appoint the Governor. It was clear to the Cardinal what his next move would be. He would throw his and the Bishop's support behind Von Gaussenberg for the role. He would also lean on the new Ad-mech Magos using his support for the growing Spaceport as leverage. If the new Magos would not playball, then the development of the spaceport would be severely delayed.

The Aquilla Lander settled down, and he prepared for his regal entrance. He had been touring the outer-shrines and temples, spreading the stories of his Holiness, and orating to the faithful. Of course, he was also purging and replacing those who had been too close to the Brotherhood of the Emperor's Mercy as well. A little PR was never a bad thing. The Cardinal shuffled data-slates again, and quickly scanned through his Homily one last time.

[According to the Ad Mech report the Skitaari destroyed the xenos artifact when they killed the bad tech priest]


In the days leading up to the council meeting it was becoming increasingly clear that the Cardinal and the Colonel had both emerged as popular heroes.

In the city/proto hive, massive cheering crowds of people swarmed wherever the Cardinal went. He was being proclaimed the "Deamon Slayer" and the "Savior of the City."

Within the Ministorum, a very vocal faction openly advocated for the Cardinal to proclaim himself Governor and then transform the world into a Blessed Shrine World.

Meanwhile, the Colonel became even more revered in the countryside, among the farmers, miners and small townsfolk. Legends proclaimed wild tales of how he single handedly destroyed an army of cultists who foolishly tried to assassinate him.

Within the PDF, a similarly vocal faction wanted the Colonel to become Governor and transform the world into a Fortress or Armory World, devoted solely to provisioning the Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy.

Those politically savvy individuals were pointing to Gaussenberg as a compromise candidate. A pragmatic successor who would govern similar to how the old Governor Gallows governed...though hopefully different enough to survive longer.

Meanwhile, the Adeptus Mechanicus were agreeable to relinquish any controlling authority over the space port. They presented themselves as helpful servants to the other factions but made no demands in return. It seems the new High Tech Priest was more focused on consolidating his own position within his organization and taking steps to hopefully guard against heresy in the future.

Loisy had been for the first time ever disappointed with his men. The failure to abduct and protect the governor, as well as some of his men serving the enemy, this was yet more treachery, and it seemed it had contaminated the PDF in the wake of the Munistorum putting his agents in... What a coincidence...

Loisy would be out of the medical in two days time. Any council to elect a new governor would have to wait for him, he thought, and this was now the time to ask for meeting or rather issue summons to 2 key characters he wished to have a word with: Von Gaussenberg, and the new lord of the mecanicus. The first he invited. The second, he "summoned", asking to discuss cooperation and equipment with him. If they couldn't come now, then he would offer to have a talk with them right before the council.

In his own ranks, the authority of the Kallenese bred enforcers and commissars would be increased, and control more frequent. Of course, this mockery of a ploy of a dozen stupid souls was no actual matter in terms of danger. But the taint it represented had to be treated thoroughly.

While, unbeknownst to him, most of the crisis had come and passed already with no civil war breaking out, in his world, it was just ongoing: the tunnel operation was progressing and it would keep going, trying yet again to achieve the same goals: find proof of the bishop's and his clique's guilt, quell the mutants, have the munistorum aligned enforcer die to a man in grinding attrition.

One thing was for certain: he would not let the munistorum take the mantle of governor on there shoulders, lest there corruption spread even wider.
But what could actually be ahead, he couldn't tell this much. Both he and the cardinal had become heroes, and he was relieved to understand that he was even more popular within his beloved PDF. But the Cardinal status as a demon slayer... This meant that he could not hope to confront them again. Unusually, he would have to be stealthy and clever if he is to actually restrain the munistorum and make sure this world is safe... While they pay for their crimes...

(Edited to take into account our GM's new informations while I actually wrote it at first)

[Trying to keep this short to not delay the council meeting too much]

Von Gaussenberg follows Loisys invitation, he wanted to visit the Colonel in hospital anyway. If the soldiers Loisy had lended him are still available je would use 4 of them as escort and enter Loisys room after a respectful knock. "I hope you are recovering well, your excellency? You wanted to talk before the council meeting?"

"Comrade! What a pleasure to see you. Come in and take a seat. The escort is no longer necessary here, but if you so wish, I'll have it become permanently attached to you.

First of all... I have had wind of the assassination attempt that threatened you as well, and I was relieved to see that you made it through. This worlds needs your talents, comrade.

I have myself been targeted, but you do not take a soldier down that easy, do you?"

The tone while strict as usual, had a rare cheerful tone, denoting Loisy's actual content to meet the one drone he considered actually loyal - that is, who would not put his interests before those of this world.

"But you know me now, and I won't delay the true topics: what have you been up to when you were targeted, and could you uncover any more evidence of the Munistorum's guilt in this sorry mockery?"

Regarding the escort von Gaussenberg nods. "That would be much appreciated. Not only for my safety but also as a... precaution. If the last days taught us something it is that even the most trusted servants of the Imperium and the Omnissiah can be corrupted. It might sound weird, but I would appreciate if some of your men and women kept a close eye on me and the other leading Administrators from time to time. Better save than sorry..."

"Thank you for your kind words. I was lucky." He looks around and asks "can we talk... freely?" Before continueing "I was just meeting with the Cardinal when one of our servitors mutated into... something. I don't really know anything about it, but one of your soldiers referred to it as 'warpspawn'. We barely had time to barricade the door and still it came down to some lucky shots of my laspistol and the Cardinals unexpected prowess with a ceremonial sabre...

The more interesting thing is that this abomination seemed to be out for Richemonts blood - although it obviously wouldn't have shunned away from mine either. Which gets a certain context as the Cardinal had informed me that 01 had tried to persuade him to help cover up the death of the clerk I asked you about. Which could ultimately have risked the plans of the traitors within the Mechanicum ranks. He also mentioned uncovering some traitors within bis own ranks and that he wanted to bring that to your attention."

He waits some moments to let that sink in and continues: "I know that times are difficult and trust a rare ressource, but I don't suspect the Cardinal to be a traitor. Maybe greedy, maybe decadent, but those are traits I can work with. And he definitly is not so stupid that he would risk his good live by biting the hand that feeds him."

[You guys can continue that dialogue, I'll set the scene of the council meeting]

The Council Meeting

At last the day arrived. This time the council chambers were filled to the brim with all manner of people. Well dressed Lords and Ladies, Heads of Merchant Guilds, Magos and Tech Priests and yes, even the occasional servitor though those were kept at great distance from the council itself. Human servants were there as well, and in total there may have been hundreds of people in the large council chambers. Nevertheless security was extremely tight. Every guest was extensively searched before hand, and the council table where the high lords sat was encased in a void shield, courtesy of the Mechanica.

When the meeting was set to begin Gaussenberg, the Colonel, the Cardinal, the Bishop and Tech Priest Mechandrite took their respective seats at the table.

At the head of a podium, a well sized Administratum Adept named Dophilous banged an electro gable until the crowd finally fell silence.

"Order Order." In the Emperor's name I call to session a meeting of the council for the world. The order of business is to select a new Governor to rule in HIS name.

I have read and re-read the founding charter of this world, authored by the Rogue Trader Damian Romero. And the charter makes it clear that this world rightfully belongs to Adept Gaussenberg, Colonel Louise, and his Excellency the Cardinal and their designated successors. These three esteemed men are the High Lords of this World who rule it in HIS Name. Let none dispute that!

Therefore, only the three have a vote at this table. However Mechandrite and the Bishop are here to lend council to the High Lords.


Let the session begin and Emperor willing, let it end with the selection of a new governor.

The crowd immediately erupts into a cheer.

(dialogue continues).

"Then they will remain with you. It is our duty to protect you, after all, as members of the armed forces.

I am... Troubled, by what you tell me. And disappointed that I couldn't see through the Magos twisted plots. However, apparently, the mutants that tried to take my head where no mechanics servitors, nor are those we're now trying to root out from the tunnels - but will probably never be able to. Plus, do you remember the eagerness of both the cardinal and the bishop to call me mad and to cover up the heretics in their ranks, just so they could have they wicked spies into my ranks? Well, considering the lost life's and the threat spawned from this matter, Friedrich, we can not rule out that at some degree of greed, it breeds treachery, maybe by accident. But if you think we can't do without Richemont and you are able to keep him in check - I'll trust you'll political skills in this. However, as for the Bishop... At least there, with the evidence we already have, we should make an example with this rotten apple in the basket."


He paused.

"But there is yet one thing I want to ask you, Friedrich."

[meeting in the hospital]

"Don't be to hard on yourself, none of us anticipated that 01 would cover for his heretical subordinate." he hesitates a moment and then continues "It is a sensitive topic and I hope you don't take it amiss, but you... were quite tense the last weeks. And I can understand why some might have gotten the impression that you are starting to loose it. Especially those that don't know what you experienced on Inamorta. I cannot vouch for the bishop, but the cardinal at least brought the heretics in his ranks to my attention and was about to forward this information to you. I'm pretty sure of it, as he wouldn't have talked to me about it, knowing I would do it, if he was just bluffing. And regarding the bishop: I'm saddened to say that our evidence is still too little to publicly move against him without generating a lot of fallout. But there are those that tend to act more discretely and have less need of ultimate evidence for the guilt of evildoers" he paints the sign of the Inquisitional I in the air with his finger.

He looks down on the ground for a moment "I fully understand you and where corruption starts to fester it has to be burned out, but going forward we need to establish some kind of trust between the biggest powers on this planet. Some kind of checks and balances. We can't exhaust our powers fighting each other, not with heretics, xenos and mutants on our door step. And from you reports I gather that it is more a question of when not if these genestealers try to infiltrate us. This world needs the Ecclesiarchy and the armed forces to get along and trust each other. How can we achieve this? Would you agree to embedding Munistorum representatives inside your Enforcers and PDF installations in exchange for the permission to carry out regular inquiries and searches on Ecclesiarchy installations?" the last is really just a shot in the dark, seeing if Loisy would be willing to make a step towards the church and vice versa.
"Of course this includes the Administratum and I will fully advocate for controls of my underlings too. We were lucky this time, but we are definitly not immun to corruption."


Having said his part he looks at Loisy again who wanted to ask something of him "I'm all ears, Charles [did not catch his first name, but Gaussenberg should know it]. What do you need of me?"


[Will add something for the council later]

Loisy was not at all happy to let the bishop slip. But while he kept his head relatively cool and manage to not fly into rage, seeing the interest of Von Gaussenberg's offer, he felt like it was not enough... But for now, his single minded obsession would be content if he could gain the right to more or less legally keep an eye on the munistorum... The PDF had already got munistorum aligned overseers because of their schemes, and this would allow him to catch up on this.

"I will agree with this proposal. If we can't take them out of the picture, at least we can make sure they do not play foul again...

But Fridriech, how do you see this world's place in the imperium? What can we offer our Imperium?" Loisy paused. His eyes lit with the passion of ambition, not selfish ambition, but that that aspires to build big, and sturdy, into the millenias.

"What do you think of the Armour World of Saint Bonifatius' Reach? Of the fortress world of Saint Bonifatius' Reach? Of the Garrison World of Saint Bonifatius' Reach?

Look, I've thought about this, and talked about this with my men: to make this place sure, to make sure it serves at its best. A world militarised to high level, where the mutants could not hope to prevail. Look at how fine our PDF are, seasoned, and already, the regiment we first sent is recognised as elite... Imagine: a world safe thanks to a big garrison, strategic to get the Imperium help whenever it will need it, sending seasoned warriors tempered into the underhive the mad munistorum spawned and in spec ops for decades. A place where people are fed and work in a rigourously organised and safe environment. Could we not become this? Could we not serve the Imperium so well in this fashion?

I know you do not wish to be governor, Friedrich. And I will not have this burden fall on your shoulders. But if we can reach a common vision, then, maybe, I should take it up?

I was thinking if this much: give me a decade, to enact.the transformation of this world into a military jewel of the imperium. And then, past a decade, and if things are sufficiently set in motion, I can step down, and retire to get my duties as commander back and elect a new governor.

Would you be part of such a project? I must also consort with the mecanicus, as none of this would be possible without their machines... But that's one more threat to keep in check if we are the biggest stick around...".

He fell silent, and waited for Gaussenberg's answer to this future he wished for.

Von Gaussenberg listens until the Colonel ends and considers the idea for some moments "You asked how I see our worlds place in the Imperium. All my time within the Administratum has taught me that worlds go through certain phases, a cycle if you will. In the first stages they unlock their natural ressources, set up ressource extraction and agriculture - as long as the soil is stil fertile. They grow and the first hives are build, they grow, their industry developes until they have the power for that crucial last push to ripe to their fullest potential. The brigthest jewels of the Imperium did seldom start of the way they are now from the beginning, they went through these phases. It takes a lot to become a fortress world, ressources, industry, people... I'm not convinced St. Bonifatius is already at the stage that such a transformation would be successful, certainly not within a mere decade."

He holds his hand in waist height "we are here", he raises it above his head "we want to get there, but the jump is still to big. First we have to get here." he goes back to eye level. "I would... prefer we took another two or three decades to push our industrialization forward, to finish the first hive, reach a critical number of at least some 2 billion souls, set up the ressources in food and warmaterial to equip such a force as you imagine. And THEN is the time to transform it into a Garrison world, right when the capacity for expansion in ressource extraction start to dwindle and Soldiers become the ressource we produce for the Imperium.

But even in this vision of mine I would like to see you already starting to build this up. Construct fortifications at the most important points that will become the cristallization point for future fortresses, groom the officercorps an army of billions will need, recruit and train an army now to become the veterans that will build the backbone when general conscription and compulsory military service become the norm. Take your time to do this the right way and your dream will come true. But in my opinion we have to be patient for that."

He waits some moments to get a grip on Loisys reaction which he expects to not be very happy. But he wanted to get his honest councel across. "All I want is to serve the Imperium to the best of my abilities. I will happily leave the post of governor to either you or the cardinal, or to another candidate of compromise from outside. But I firmly believe that we should all work together and not fight each other. There is no reason why bonifatius reach should not be a center of worship and a fortress world simultanously, although my councel for our esteemed Cardinal would be the same I gave to you... patience."

Loisy listened carefully. Again, he trusted that his counterpart had way more knowledge and knowhow when it came to economics and politics, and all that mattered was that he would put his expertise to the betterment of the imperium with the goal of becoming that which they should be, in Loisy's eyes. Loisy was not aloof, and he knew this would take more than a decade, but to secure Von Gaussenberg's approval of this plan, he needed to make himself clear that, yet again, this wasn't a coup.

Loisy knew what he had to do to set all this in motion: candidate for governorship, use this position to secure a deal with the Astra Militarum - which should be fairly easy. In fact, while he would give the military accent of the whole, he would not take up a too direct approach in any other matters.

Once the world will be set on the right tack, he believed it wouldn't deviate, even when he leaves the duty of governor. The only true danger was the munistorum - they would necessarily try to backstab hip even more so should they too vote for him. He thought, probably by creating unrest, uprisings, and sabotage the tithes so that the greater imperium denounces him as an incompetent.

But he reckoned that maybe, just maybe, for the good of the imperium at large and this colony, he should put himself at this risk.

And if that didn't work? He'd keep leveraging to steer the new governor into the right direction. As best he could. And he would almost be thankful his mad gambit would fail.

"Thanks you for your honest advice, Friedrich. I'll think about all a.of this ahead of the council. Should I get drinks?"

The rest of the conversation would be about nothing of importance.

(Next up will be for the council, but I'll try to meet with mecadenrite a little before, if this is permitted, to now what the mechanics position would be towards my projects for this world).

This time, Cardinal Richemont was not late for the meeting. He arrived early, and was eager to mill with the crowd and the people. He had purposely reduced his entourage, leaving only a few Ecclesiarchy stalwarts to handle important matters and the like. He conspicuously wore an ornamental sabre at his waist, a not-so-subtle and visual reminder of his role as the "Demon-slayer".

He spent time "holding court" in the entryway, listening to supplicants, dispensing blessings, handing out indulgences, and listening to petitions. He could not afford to be seen as aloof. His tour of the outer-shrines and missionary houses, tours of his lands, as well as his regular speaking engagements at the blossoming Cathedral were all vital to show his benevolence to the people. His hand brought prosperity to all it touched.

It was an important contrast to the rough-shod, dictatorial approach that the Colonel had taken. The man had built his base of support with the Kallenese, while the Cardinal was trying to erode the Colonel's popularity in the outer-reaches away from the city. He knew well the stories that were circulating about Loisy outside the proto-hive.

If elevated to the position of governor, the Colonel would surely lean into militarizing the planet. Of course, the Cardinal could gain a lot of power off that pivot; but the man as Governor would quickly turn into an existential threat to him personally. He did not seem like one who was used to compromising, only commanding. He did not want to be the Colonel's enemy, but the man seemed to have an irrational hatred for the Ministorum.

Therefore, the Cardinal's vote was clear. He would recommend Von Gaussenberg to be the new Governor. It was the only choice that could bring balance to the leadership of St. Bonifacitus' Reach. It was best to have a leader in charge who did not want to be the leader in charge. Plus, the man was a true believer in the colony.

I assume that von Gaussenberg is still oblivious of Richemonts plan to nominate him - at least it will be funnier that way. He would not have talked with the Cardinal about what Colonel Loisy had told him of his plans, it was clear that that meeting had been confidential. But he would have had a similar message delivered containing the corner stones:
- we cannot keep wasting our energy fighting each other
- checks and balances are needed, all three main powers must control each other
- von Gaussenberg wants to keep the Colony going and regarding the rumors within the general public about Richemonts supporters speculating for Bonifatius reach to become a shrineworld and Loisys about a possible fortress world he would mention that both could be done if all three manage to pull at the same rope instead of playing tug of war.
Friedrich just hopes that he - and the colony - not get grinded to dust when the church and the military keep confronting each other... when an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object one could say.

________________________________________________________________


As the meeting begins, High Administrator von Gaussenberg arrives in an armored limo, still accompanied by a squad of 4 elite PDF-bodyguards that Colonel Loisy had provided. Even on his way to the meeting he had stiill worked on some filing and paperwork and walking through the corridor he made some last urgent phonecalls. Administration business never ended. His entourage was very small compared to the others, only 2 other leading administrators and a couple of lower ranking clerks specialized in providing their superiors information should they need it. His Uniform was still the same simple yet distinguished black piece, with some accessories denoting his rank in the administratum, but overall he seemed to keep his livestyle relatively simple for a man of his position. He had attended Governor Gallows funeral - the man deserved all respect for serving Bonifatius reach for a good two decades and upon entering the council chamber he took the time to again give his condolences to Gallows widow.
Afterwards he formally greets the other council members and important representatives as etiquette demanded and then settles into his council seat. He awaits the coming minutes with a certain amount of anticipation and a queasy feeling in his stomach. Specifically as he expects Cardinal Richemont and Colonel Loisy to both reach for the position of Governor, putting him in the very unfortunate position of being forced to decide between the both of them. A decision he still hadn't made, despite a lot of time thinking about it.

Coming to the meeting, the colonel was applauded by the crowd, shouting his name in respect and admiration, waving banners of the PDF and portraits of the officer. Unlike Richmont, however, he feared that munistorum operatives could hide in the crowd and thus only saluted from afar them with a wild smile, and let the children come near his bodyguards to get a better view of the man. The Bodyguards themselves were actually recieving a respect and attention they were not at all accustomed to, and their featureless faces covered up entirely wouldn't let one know what they they felt about this.

Loisy firstly went.to meet Mechadandrite outside, greeted him, and processed to talk business: that is, he put forth the possibility of militarising this world as both a way to make it secure and influent, while in the meantime serving the Imperium, and, amongst other things, potentially being an interesting investment for him as well to get a patted on the shoulder by his own organisation considering the huge contingent of techpriests that would get the chance to be formed, live, and go sai' the stars with the Potential Regiments levied to go look for STC, or whatever, the point he tried to get across was: this will be good for you too, Magos.

Loisy, as usual, in his ceremonial outfit, in fact, this was pretty much the only time he would, as outside the council meetings, he always was clad.in standard issue combat fatigues. The famed Kallenese Bodyguards followed, but this time, guns safety off, and ready to pounce at the poor soul or servitor who'd so much as look like he would harm the Colonel.

Even before meeting with Von Gaussenberg, but even more so right afterward, he had compiled a file of Epic proportions that would make the latter envious, filled to the brink with law excerpts, numbers, projections, statistics, scenarii, contacts with the Imperial Guard, military mapping of the system, the proud history of the 1rst Saint Bonifatius' Raid Regiment... All of this was for one sake: to prove by reason that the direction he wanted to have this world head towards was the logical and correct one.

Upon entering the room itself, he collectively greeted all present parties politely, then sat down, and waited for his turn to speak. Now was not the time to overthink, paradoxaly. He was going to make a mad leap into a pool of blood hungry sharks, and in truth, he felt like he was going to make the greatest sacrifice of his life in the name of this world's future and the Imperium betterment. "The heck you are doing?" A voice kept asking, but he nodded it away "this is my duty".

Too bad the Bishop and the Tech-priest were not able to vote, as he had spent time and effort currying their favor. Probably for the best though.

The Cardinal stood and made is way to the podium. Time to get the show started...

"Imperial citizens and loyal servants of the God-Emperor. It is a blessing to serve, one that we can all participate in.

Our world is on the brink? On the brink of what is yet to be determined. As I salute the dutiful and faithful service of our loved, and departed Governor Gallows; it is time for us to look forward.

Old grievances must be cast aside, and a new path forward paved in blood, sweat, and tears. Therefore, it is clear to me that of the three amongst us who can serve, there is only one candidate who is clear....."

The old orator paused for effect. He had been consciously using the forms of rhetoric taught to him in the Schola Progenium and that he had been perfecting during all his years as an orator.

"The man to lead us all forward in service to the Emperor can only be..... Frederick von Gassenberg! Long live Governor von Gaussenberg!"

With that he gave the signal, and his supporters in the galleries roared in approval, crying out ""Long live Gaussenberg! Long may he serve!" The Cardinal ceremonial drew his sword, and laid-it on the ground before Von Gaussenberg, and kneeled to the Adept Primaris. His head held low in supplication.

Von Gaussenberg blinks a couple of times and looks around astonished as the cheering people, as he is pretty flabbergasted by what just happened. A silent "what the f..." forms on his lips and if he would have to be a pretty good actor to only pretend his surprise.
A moment later he forces himself to some composure, again being the figure of a dutyful, stern administrator he usually gives as his public persona, not really picking up the chants, but looking at Cardinal Richemont with a questioning look. It was an... interesting move. He could see the arguments for it - at least it would avoid the direct confrontation between Ecclesiarchy and Military for now. And on top of it, it would put von Gaussenberg up as Colonel Loisys opponent instead of Richemont in the election, thereby keeping the Administrator and Colonel from sticking together against the cardinal , which was not a plus for himself of course. Well played one could say.

He sends a still somewhat puzzled look over to the military leader, still processing his options and what further course of action would be in the best interest for the imperium. For now he doesn't proclaim anything, neither acceptance nor refusal of the nomination, trying to get at least a first impression of Loisys next move.

The die was cast...but how would Gaussenberg respond?

It seemed to be the most pressing matter, though a few other minor loose ends had also been tied up.

Namely, Mechandrite had reached an agreement with the Colonel. Some of the PDF trainees would assist Ad Mech dig teams for archeotech, and in exchange the Ad Mech would prioritize some high list items for the PDF. Namely, specialty infantry weapons, artillery shells, mortars, and some additional light vehicles, all of much were sorely lacking.

Loisy's turn came. He stood, and it was time for him to play his own character... Which was surprisingly difficult. Staying normal when you are about to try and convince a million soul that you have got the best ideas and that these might entitle you to command them, it's hard to act normally. But he managed it. He stood greeted people with his usual mix of sympathy and strictness again. And then, whereas Richemont's speech was brief and emotional, his was to be factual and complete, although that cheerfully ambitious tone came back in his voice. This was it. The colonel's paranoia had mutated into a fixed idea about the munistorum's malicious wrongdoing (in which he was more or less correct), and an iron will to protect this place by military means. Not to fortify this place. But the be the fortification.

He first made a shirt history of this place -a history that emphasised both the need, the importance, and the skill of Saint Bonifatius' military and enforcers. This first part aims at convincing that yes, when tithes somewhat faltered or lagged a bit behind, in fact, we have got something to offer else entirely: warriors with grit.

Then, he asked permission to peep into the wider sector. With holomaps, colorful depictions, images, pictures and citations, this show was almost pleasant. Loisy underlined the numerous menaces nearby, the risks of sect (mostly Genestealers) migrating to or via their world, the need for armories and levies for these worlds at war or soon to be, and thus, their ideal position to supply this.

After this, Loisy talked about what was happening with the enemy within. He talked about the rogue that struck this place as well, that tryid to kill him as well -and failed, fortunately. He spoke about how the Emperor's servants are never truly beaten: because Emperor wishing, their I'll begotten nests could be not the death of this planet, but it's forge and furnace to hone the skills of those destined to the guard. And with that, he proceeded to tell the tale of the 1rst Saint Bonifatius' Raid Regiment, asked for everywhere, decorated beyond counting, and biggest, brightest of honours - combined to prolong it's life, being reinforced.

He then thankfully pointed at the help the new mecanicus is ready to provide with this, saying that our industry is sturdy, and that it can, given the time and direction, grow a full military wing.

He bounced of, making an inventory and projection of Saint Bonifatius' ressources productions: at this rate and with the estimated reserves the mecanicus was not certain it could ever become a forge world of its own, nor a full blown hive world... But it could be a military one, spawning small, elite detachments for the imperial guard, hosting training grounds in some of its plains, life fighting training in the tunnels, Navy relay if the space port is extended...

He concluded. This is the best future we can hope for this place, for it to be secure and to bring something more to our Imperium.

Therefore, I am making you this proposition. Make me interim military governor, or regent, or whatever the title. I'll do all in my power to have the place walk at the best pace towards this future. I say walk, because this will need time. He looked at Von Gaussenberg, to say "I have heard you, and I will not rush this". But when it is done, I shall step down, and take back duties as a commander in chief, and give it back to the rightful owners: the imperial administrators. I make a solemn pledge of this.

He had said it. And the crowd erupted in acclamation, while the soldiers present around here roared their warcry as if to break their lungs under the strain. The Colonel remained as expected of him: stern, serious, and determined, standing straight and honourable.

Now, he could only wait for the vote to decide. Part of him almost hoped it would fail and he would not be crowned governor. But he suppressed it, reiterating these worlds "this is my duty to serve".

Colonel Loisy's speech was exactly what the Cardinal expected. Cardinal Richemont stayed quiet, clapped politely when the time was right, and made a show of stifling a yawn at times.

There is no doubt that Colonel Loisy is a brave defender, and a hero of ST. Bonifatius' Reach! We should all give him another round of applause for his service.

It is clear, that he is a faithful and dutiful warrior for the Emperor. Such faith is what we need going forward!

HIs words speak to me. Dangers of the mutant, the xenos, and the heretic. In addition, we know that the Colonel has a track record of success against these threats. He has been blessed by the Emperor to be of service.

Therefore, it would be a sin for any of us to keep him from his calling. I maintain my motion for Von Gaussenberg to be our new Imperial Governor, as no one knows the world better than him!

However, stirred by the Colonel's speech, and mindful of the threats around us, I wish to make a second proposal. It is time for our planet to think of not just protecting itself, but to use our might to help the people of the Imperium across the sector.

We should raise an additional two regiments for our tithe, equip it with the help of our Mechanicus brothers, and promote our esteemed Colonel to the position of General. At the head of three regiments, the General can than lead this expeditionary forces out in the name of the Emperor. With such an accomplished leader as General Loisy, they will not fail in their duty and bring military honor to us all and complete the goals the General has laid-out in front of us.

I fully support two promotions today, Von Gaussenberg for Governor and Loisy as General for our expanded military tithe!

Glory to Him-on-Terra! "

The Cardinal's followers roared in approval and heartily thanked the soldiers around them for their service. The Cardinal bowed graciously to the Colonel and then stood up to lead the round of applause for his fellow triumvirate member.

Loisy waited for the vote to take place as the protocol wihsed for, but he was almost disappointed in the Cardinal's proposal. The string to sned him offworld, for starters, was ridiculously obviously, but, mostly, it was precisely Loisy who nominated the leaders of the regiments to depart. Puzzling as it was, he did not reply, and waited for the vote. It seemed that his bodyguards caught the trick too, as he felt they wear about to go and take the C ardinals head right there and then, but he gestured them in a fatherly manner as if to say "not yet, comrades".

Von Gaussenberg seems very much deep in though during Colonel Loisys presentation but also soaks up the provided information and arguments like a sponge. After all, that was a language he understood - facts, projections, forecasts - which in a way was also a well played out argument comming from the Astra Militarum representive. And he had to admit that already confronting him with the general concept and adopting his council of patience did a lot to win Gaussenberg for the cause. But there remained quite some doubt if the position of governor would not break the man

Cardinal Richemonts proposal started of and adressed some of his concern he wholeheartedly agreed to - loosing their best officer to the torture of day-to-day politics and diplomacy would be a waste, but the following ploy to promote into what was basically exile was as obvious as it was dishonest.

As only the three of them - Richemont, Loisy and himself - had a vote in this, it all came down to himself, and he figured he had a couple of realistic choices.
He could support Colonel Loisy as Governor - which might work for a while but might drive the man over the edge and it would likely escalate into a fullblown conflict with the Ecclesiarchy
He could support Cardinal Richemonts movement to promote the Colonel away - which would either led him to open revolt right now or would leavy von Gaussenberg alone with a chaotic headless Military and an Ecclesiarchy much to powerful for his own liking
He might also as well nominate a completly different, neutral candidate from outside, spliting the vote into a stalemate until one of the others moved to a more sensible position - good luck with that...

But there was of course another possibility, even if he really did not like it. Nobody would really loose out, but everyone would be equally unhappy about the outcome - which was always the sign of a GREAT compromise. A dirty compromise that might, possibly, just work for now.


Through the back and forth cheering of supporters of both sides, he raised his hand and made eye contact with Adept Dophilous who had the chair, calling everyone to order with some slams of his hammer.

When von Gaussenberg finally spoke, it was with solemn words and much less orchestrated and flashy then the other too - but in a way is calm, rational and stern speech might as well be a kind of role he played as well.



"I fully agree with Cardinal Richemont, a promotion of Colonel Loisy is long overdue. Our planet has a population nearing a billion and our PDF is much too large to be led by a Colonel. But I must remind you, that any intervention into the Astra Militarum hierarchy is far out our jurisdiction. And even if this was possible I can only advise against robbing our planet of its most competent officer - a hero of the recent crisis on top of it." which was a formal way of rejecting the proposal of sending Loisy off world without shedding any doubt that the man deserved a promotion - making some of the Cardinals supporters unhappy while gaining the favor of the Colonels.

He turned over to Colonel Loisy and continued "The vision you laid out for us is indeed very well thought through, founded in hard facts and will set a path into the future that will benefit the Imperium as it will ensure the prosperity and security of our world. So I fully support it, your excellency." which obviously made one half of the crown start to cheer "... but..." the crowd fell silent again "I'm afraid robbing our forces of their commander right at the beginning of this critical step into a new area for the colony would be far from a wise decision. For this great vision of yours to be carried through, we need you as a military commander, not entangled in diplomacy, politics and paperwork." - which somewhat turned the favor of the crowd, as he more or less rejected Loisys candidacy for governorship.

He turned towards the other councelors - the Mechanicum Representative and the bishop, but also the members of the higher noble houses, trade komglomerates and artisan guilds before coming back to the Cardinal and the Colonel in turns. "Before we set our votes, you all should know that should this burden really fall on my shoulders, I will set the plans drawn out by Colonel Loisy in motion. There might be some minor adjustments, but overall, what he so expertly laid out for us WOULD become the future of our world. And to fulfill that dream we ALL must pull together, work side by side for these goals and everyone has to play their part - for us all to prosper under the emperors grace." here he takes a long look at both his co-rulers, making clear that while he would fullfill Loisys vision, there would be no way to do this without the Ecclesiarchy - no matter how much Loisy might want this.

"Taking into account what I just said, do you still uphold your nomination?" he directly asks Cardinal Richemont, before turning to the mentioned other councelors asking "before we cast our votes, I would like to hear if any of the other dignitaries wishes to give us their councel."


As he finished speaking, an attentive judge of character might see how von Gaussenbergs shoulders slump a little and that he seems under quite some stress currently. He was not at all happy with the prospect he had just laid out - especially as it would put him between all chairs, forced to juggle dozens of balls at once. But he thought that he achieved what needed to be achieved with his proposition - a compromise that gave everyone a little while making everyone unhappy enough that one could be satisfied that ones competitors are suffering too.

Loisy stood again. He new he needed to express himself to make sure the crowd of militaries that wish him so strongly governor are not disappointed - as he knows what can happen when that occurs. So He was about to amend his proposal. He could not be an equal to the ecclesiaechy- as this would jeopardise the whole future they envisioned.

"Soldiers and faithful citizens of Saint Bonifatius Reach. You have heard this man. He says he will lead us to the bright future we deserve. Know this much: thus far, he has held up its world in any matter and he knows the intricacy of running in long term better than anyone of us.

Should I cast my vote on him? Would you trust?"

The crowd that supported Loisy started to whistle and protest "No, YOU are the hero, you deserve to be promoted!"

"Soldiers and faithful citizens, let us make a deal. My promotion doesn't need to be to be military in nature. Von Gaussenberg, if you are governor, will you hear the cry of the people, and elevate me to a higher degree of overseeing and responsibility in your government? I am a man suited for the future we would like to make happen. But I am not power hungry, as I serve none but the Emperor and it's cattle. I will gladly lay down my candidacy, if only I can rest assured that my know how in military sphere will be put to its best use".

In shorts, he was offering Von Gaussenberg his vote in exchange for a position of prime minister of sorts.

The crowd, in fact, started cheering "Make the Colonel Prime Minister! The Hero deserves the promotion! Make him General!".

With the same fatherly gesture he used with his soldiers, Loisy calmed the cheering, half of which, spoken in Kallenese, was not understandable by his counterparts.

Loisy was visibly starting to gain experience in politics. He knew of Von Gaussenberg was fond of compromises, and using the crowd, he understood there was a way to force an ever so small meaning in his direction, thus making sure the government would actually follow the guidelines he laid, while saving the compromise, and while gaining the people to the cause.

Richemont saw where the Colonel was trying to box him out of power. Clearly, the man was a better orator than he had been, but he still had no grasp of politics. Politics was not a command and control process. It was a negotiation and a balance. No one had to do anything for anyone else, unless they wanted to. It had to be mutually beneficial, and that was something the blunt instrument of Loisy did not understand.

The Cardinal stood-up, "If we wish to fulfill the dreams and ambitions of the Colonel, then we are well on our way to be the next Kallanese stronghold, likened to the soldiers of the death world of Krieg." The Cardinal purposely called out the foreign tongues being spoken by Loisy's supporters.

"Such a path is useful to the Imperium, so we can send our sons and daughters into the stars to defend us, and if they are skilled enough in arms to receive their own planet in the distant Marches far from here." Again, the Cardinal chose his words carefully. He wanted to stir the crowd against these foolish ideas of foreign conquest when their own world was still in the early stages of growth. He needed to sow doubt about the heavy boot of Loisy in charge.

"Big dreams from the Colonel and his PDF troopers, troopers from a different world; and born of their own fire. I think of their glorious record of enforcing their ideas with the barrel of a lasgun. However, force without faith is not what St. Bonefatious himself stood for. To quote the great Saint, "The works of the lasgun are temporary, the work of the soul is enduring." Those with the lasguns need to be strong in faith, to enforce the Emperor's Creed and will, and not in service to the demons we all carry within ourselves. The Cardinal purposely was calling attention to Loisy's service record and previous failings, those that he knew Von Gaussenberg was well aware of.

"The Great Enemy delights in turning the savior of today, into your damnation tomorrow. Therefore, we need to entrust in the great bureaucracy created by the God-Emperor himself, and set in motion by his own hand. The Administratum, the Ecclesiarchy, and the Munitorium as demonstrated in the Holy Aquila itself," The Cardinal made the sign of the Aquila as a visual demonstration.

"We have come this far, thanks to the Emperor's guidance, and using the model he set forth for his divine realm. To seek to change it now and undermine the divine sanction of Him-on-Terra...... seems the height of dangerous hubris. We risk the great things we can do for the Imperium by straying from HIs path. " The Cardinal was openly speaking to the crowd as well as to the Governor.

"I am just a humble servant, a mere man who listens to the words of the Emperor from scripture. A soldier without food, is not a soldier. A warrior with no weapons, is but an empty vessel. A guardsmen with no spaceport, is a statue. Can we build and create armies for the Imperium? Yes, but what good are these armies when they can not be fed, equipped, or moved? They are like grox dung, useful for making a fire in your own hearth only." Here the Cardinal was pointing out how so many soldiers, undert he control of one man was more likely to cause revolt and unrest at home, rather than be pointed at the stars. He hoped Von Gaussenberg was hearing him well. His words were also a coded message to Loisy, that his dreams were just that dreams, for without the Cardinal's aid his soldiers would starve, his soldiers would drill with wooden sticks, and they would be stuck here on this world. Soldiers couldn't grow food, build weapons, or fly themselves to the stars. Something that the blunt instrument of the Colonel needed to be reminded of.

"Therefore, let us put our faith in the model the Emperor himself has shown us. I nominated von Gaussenberg to be Governor, and ultimately it is up to him. If he is ready to take on the burden of leadership, I will support it. However, the burden is for him alone to lead, and the rest of us to act as his steward and guides, as equals. He would be the first among equals. As the charter and God-Emperor intended." The Cardinal again made the sign of the Aquila and bowed low.

This time, he did not ask for his followers to cheer. He left the great hall silent, giving the space to contemplate his words, to let their subtext sink in.

Loisy could not hold it to himself and broke the silence instantly.

"Oh, but I am well aware of this, Cardinal. I know my business well, as I just aptly demonstrated with this full exposé. I must say I got to train at it a lot while you where nursering the heretics I chased in the meantime."

He laughed. Besides, I am not aware that I either canceled nor disapproved the construction of the cathedral in the meantime, nor forbade any of these men, who attend church everyday, to do so. I am not certain where the reproaches come from, Cardinal. Unless, maybe, you are afraid of something. Are you dissatisfied with these people who have been defending this world since it was settled? If you have a grudge about all this, refer to me, but so not let this sabotage out future."

Loisy was being blunt on purpose. He had matured. He understands very well that those who back him up are people who are themselves blunt, whole, and determined. And that this council was a show, unlike the previous ones. Thus, he intended to show all spectators that he feared no man, and that nothing would stop him in his tracks. He knew full well that Von Gaussenberg, at this very instant, was probably at the brink of fainting from the incident.

The second goal of Loisy was, obviously, to push the Cardinal to the fault. He had learned, and this time, he would not get at their throats right there and then. No. Instead, he would make them made, put them on the defensive, under such scrutiny that they can't hide.

At this stage, the Colonel was fully letting loose the scars of his psyche: while no fit of rage overtook him, the full ruse of his intelligent mind was focusing on the fight he had set himself in. But hopefully, in a way that would not, truly endanger his long term view for the world.

Loisy looked at Von Gaussenberg. He understood full well that the best that could happen was the administrator calling the fight off right now, and have Loisy's world's hang in the air instead.

Tensions were riding one notch....

Mechandrite grabs his electro staff and knocks it on the ground in response to Gaussenberg's question.

"The Mechanica supports your candidacy for Governor."

Meanwhile the Bishop weighs in with a different point.

"I support my Cardinal as it is the right course of action. But if you (Gaussenberg) have doubt in your mind about this course of action than perhaps the High Lords should consider another proposition.

Perhaps you simply divide the world between the three of you? Three Principalities, three Governors in their own right. Three entities with their own men at arms so that no single source of corruption can overcome us? And one council to coordinate on the important matters, such as the division of tithes."

I imagine the settlement would be a simple matter. Half of the great city for the Cardinal, and the other half for Gaussenberg and a nice ferrocrete wall to separate the two halves. And the Colonel can enjoy a peaceful reign over the countryside."

"It is my...humble proposal to you High Lords."

Mechandrite whirls and hums as it processes the words of the Bishop before speaking in a hollow metallic voice.

"The lack of a centralized authority would be extremely inefficient. I calculate a 96.34% chance of economic stagnation were this to occur."

A pause...

"However, I acknowledge that the Mechanica have also been inefficient in eliminating corruption within our own ranks. So I acknolwedge approximately 3.66% validity to the Bishop's argument."

That was really, really bad... Friedrich had half a mind to just leave the Cardinal and Colonel to it, duck in cover with the most essential parts of the colony, let the two of them nuke it out and pick up the shards afterwards. Especially since being in charge in any way and form while sh** hits the fan because the vendetta between the two of them would mean his head would be on the chopping block too. But as much as he hated it, just leaning back and watching meant neglecting his duty against the Imperium.

He listened to the councel of Mechandrite and the Bishop, considering this option, just as he thought about Colonel Loisys demand to be made prime minister. Cardinal Richemonts and the Colonels only barely veiled threats against each other doesn't really do much to make this easier. Non the less he had to do his best to salvage what could still be saved.

He raised his hand to speak and when it is his turn he first calmly adresses Loisy, who had offered to elect Gaussenberg for the promise of being made prime minister. "I'm not insinuating you to be power hungry or questioning your loyalty to the Imperium. But as you know the the Decree Imperialis Militia Separare, created by Primarch Guilliman after the Horus Heresy very clearly states that power - especially military power - has to be limited and separated to make it impossible for enemies of humankind to subterfuge and turn them against our people to cause war and destruction. It is not for us to question the wisdom of the son of him on earth." which is... an interpretation of the decree that split up the Imperial Army into the Astra Militarum Regimentos.
"The great Primarch was of course more than capable of handling affairs military and excecutive duties, but for mere mortals like us, that is to much to ask for - hence he set these rules into motion. I cannot promise you to elevate you into a position of excecutive political power AND leave all the duties and responsibilities of PDF, Astra Militarum and Enforcers to you - lest you would perish under the work load. If you wish to play a greater role politically I - should I be elected governor - would unburden you from some of these responsibilities by giving the stewardship of our every day security and police work to someone else..." which heavily implied the cardinal.

Gaussenberg was tiptoeing on eggshells, but hoped that what he meant was more or less clear. He could not and would not give Loisy full contol over all armed personell AND more political power. That was too much. If he wanted more of one, he would have to surrender some of the other.




Now that was his immediate response to Loisys demands, he came over to the Bishops proposition and Mechandrites opinion on them "I too think that dividing this world in three would weaken us, for the mere prospect of avoiding a supposed conflict of interests that I'm not sure is really there." which was a blatant lie, as it was obvious to everyone that this conflict was very much present.
"I'm still convinced that for this colony to be a success, we need to pull together, pool ressources and act as one - and a devision would seriously hamper that. It is difficult to fully lay out, how the future will play out, but I deem it wise to task Colonel - and soon to be General - Loisy with all affairs concerning our military and the military-industrial complex as far as it concerns the PDF and Astra Militarum. Our Good Cardinal on the other hand should be in charge of the civilian populace, agriculture, industry and of course and above all our spiritual well being - which in my mind also includes relieving pressure on the PDF by supporting them with a force policing the everyday live of our populace. And for the well being of us all and the Imperium as a whole, there will be shared and reciprocal controls of each institution to root out corruption early and at least plant and foster the seed of mutual trust. I see my own role in this merely as a mediator, focussing on keeping the machine running. Could you live with that?" he looks at both his Co-rulers in turn


So another attempt at a compromise. What Gaussenberg tries to lay out - still unhappy about it himself, as his head was on the block if things went south - was that Loisy and Richemont basically get almost half of the power on the planet. Loisy would have the Military and the parts of industry elementary for his field of work, Richemont the rest of the industry, agriculture and a much better grip on the civilian populace including his own armed force. His proposition even went so far that Gaussenberg himself would only go for a minor slice of the cake, spliting it somewhat like 40:40:20 instead of fairly, hoping that this offer was tempting enough for the two of them to grab it and maybe let their conflict rest for now.

The Cardinal smiled, "I would like nothing better, and hence why after much prayer, I pushed your candidacy forward. You can count on my full-support and cooperation Von Gaussenberg."

The Cardinal assumed they could deal with the details later, after Von Gaussenberg was comfortably the Governor. For now, he was satisfied that the once-and-future Governor had recognized the threat that Loisy posed to the balance of power if he had all the firepower to himself. The Colonel's blunt talk had played right into his hands and let the Colonel expose his own limitations to Von Gaussenberg and the other power-players in the room. Colonel Loisy's ambition and goals were clear to all with the ears to listen.

Loisy pulled up a stunt, and brought the latest crisis at hand:

"I agree with most of what you say von Gaussenberg, and I'm glad you envision this world as the nest of warriors it must become in the future. For that, because I acknowledge your innate understanding of politics, administration, and your integrity, I still support your candidacy over mine, as again, we have got common goal for the Imperium's and this colony's sake.

However, I have amply proven that I too know my business, and I say: we have seen what it lead us to to arm other people than the regular army, and what said army had to contain against, fighting its own people, bred but its own institution. For this, I assure you - none other than the Imperium's dedicated servants should be able to look after our forces at arms. For this reason, only the imperial guard should oversee us, the soldiers. Besides, I dare remind that most imperial institutions that are not the PDF or the guard are not to get access to force, lest it could arise and seize the planet, as we, once again, nearly saw it happen already. But as still understand your concern that the PDF should also be the enforcers. For this reason..." Loisy paused.

"Von Gaussenberg, I'll amend what I ask for. If we want a force of police to look after me and the traitors in our ranks, then, it should be offworlders, and not just any ones. Call for the adeptus arbites to settle in this world proper - this way, none can accuse us of treachery.".

Loisy's reaction was as blunt as always. They wanted to look after him, but not the cardinal? Then, Loisy presented that option which they couldn't deny. Not wanting the arbites to increase presence was a sign of having something to hide, and he would pooint it out.Willingly calling for the arbites dismissed all doubts that he was power hungry - none would call these stern law enforcers if he wasn't sure of his own innocence.

At the same time, these enforcers would not have got anything to do with the Ecclesiarchy, while actually fulfilling the demand of von Gaussenberg. But the such a maneuver would also bring more scrutiny to the world in exchange.

This time, the crowd didn't cheer. The atmosphere was getting tense again, and fingers were itching on the triggers of a fair few. It is probable that would Gaussenberg not have stated he'd follow Loisy's general direction, the crowd may have gotten out of control. Or at leat, it felt so.

Well... that was it. Loisys assumption was right - or at least von Gaussenberg came to the same conclusion - he couldn't really deny letting the Arbites handle the policing of civilians and controls of Loisys forces instead of handing that power over to the Cardinal. And he could fully see why the Colonel proposed this, still hellbend on confronting the Ecclesiarchy and keeping them down. The flip side of this was: while Friedrich would have dared to try and dance on the edge of the volcano as long as the two other powerplayers were equal enough in power to balance each other out, what was layed out on the horizon here was nothing worth taking that risk. He would be held responsible for what happened in the next years and decades while being only a ceremonial figure with an all too powerful prime minister. A puppet in all but name and title and yet still the one who would have to take the fall if things went wrong - which they inevitably did sooner or later.

He took his time to show the audience how he thought about Loisys words, nodding in agreement before announcing in a measured tone, friendly and agreeable: "That is indeed a wise proposal, which I fully support. Nonetheless I have to beg the forgiveness the esteemed council, as hearing the arguments brought forth, I have adjusted my opinion. I hear your deepfelt dedication to this cause and your adamant conviction in your ability to not only be the excellent commander you have been for our armed forces so far but also handle the burden of political power that comes with a higher political position. I was wrong in doubting that you could handle both. I don't think it would be right or fair to only promote you to a rank like prime minister if in fact you are utterly devoted to handle both affairs at once. Such a load of responsibilities should come with the corresponding rank, instead of me occupying the throne while all the reigns in truth are entrusted into your steady hands.

Therefore I will content myself with my current role as a humble servant of the Imperium, focussing on the necessary administration, taxation and so on while watching in awe how the vision you so expertly presented to us takes form. I cast my vote for Colonel Loisy as Governor."


Now the fun was about to begin, as he was curious how the other two would react to that. Gaussenberg himself had tried to compromise, but he would not walk to the shambles blindly and be a puppet governor ready to be the scapegoat while others reigned in all but name. Meanwhile he hoped that his mention of the load of responsibilities reached Loisy who would have to take responsibility for ALL the colony, not just the military as he would have under Gaussenbergs compromise proposition. And his last sentence of concentrating on administration and taxation made clear that he might focus on his own projects instead of fully investing in the fast transfer to a garrison world, depending on what transpired in the future. Loisy wanted all the power, than let him have the responsibilities that came with it. And if he wanted to fight the Church, let him have a go and see where that leads...

The Cardinal did not expect that! It was obvious that Von Gaussenberg had taken the measure of the man, and found him wanting. However, trying to lead or compromise with the Colonel was a fool's errand. HIs paranoia and trauma was etched too deep. Instead, Von Gaussenberg intended to let him burn-out like a wildfire.... the question was who was going to get burned in the process?

The Cardinal carefully removed his towering hat, and threw back his head and laughed heartily. He then, careful put his hat back on, picked up his sword, and re-sheathed it. He stalked over towards the Colonel.

"One should be careful what they wish for, as the Emperor may just grant it! the Cardinal gave a huge grin.

'I agree, let us turn to off-world support. We will call in the Judges of the Emperor to enforce the Lex Imperium and ensure we are meeting our obligation to the Imperium..... via the tithe!

In that same vein, I also vote for Colonel Loisy to be given the Governorship; and responsibility for meeting that tithe!

May his reign be long and glorious, with the wisdom of the Saints guiding him." With that the Cardinal turned and gave Colonel Loisy a blessing. A huge grin on his face.

Now, the largest question was, what would the new balance of power look like. He was confident in his position with the Bishop and Magos Mechandrite, since he financed and provided the workers needed for the Manufactorums. He needed to understand Von Gaussenberg's vision for the next decade.

Loisy almost choked on himself. The crowd was cheering madly and raising banners and guns up high in enthusiasm, covering up his -for the first time in ages- almost panicked face.

The voice of his reason was telling him that he had gone too far. But he shook it away "this is my duty".

He quickly regained composure, and he stood to speak. He could not step down now and jeopardise everything.

"I am honoured by your proposals. In that case, let the burden of leading this world towards a glorious future fall on me, and that I perish if I weaken.".

"THAT WE PERISH IF WE WEAKEN" the crowd roared.

Loisy's mad mind had now one new focus: to achieve the genesis of the garrison world of St Bonifatius Reach. And to that effect, he'll have got to take reach out to his contacts in the Astra Militarum and Munistorum.

However, for all his obsession, he remained loyal and while he doubted the loyalty of most, he still knew that he was not omniscient and was neither an economist nor a politician. For that reason.

"Then, Von Gaussenberg, in regards to your invaluable skills and longsightness, I henceforth make you prime minister. Cardinal, as for you, I have no higher mandate to give, than that of upholding the Holy Emperor's Church - and this is already a tremendous task as it touches to the spiritual and not just the mondane.

I would like to see the both of you in private afterwards, to discuss like men, and not just officials, what's next."

Loisy could not give anything to the Cardinal yet, but in a way, the order -and not just proposal- to meet in private was sort of a hand towards him. Have a fair talk, and settle things as right as they can. As blunt as he was, Loisy could not again spit harsh words in front of the crowd. He understood all the threats in his grin and the hypocrisy in his blessing. But this was of no matter. He'd have had to sort it out anyway, governor, or not.

As for Von Gaussenberg, he genuinely recognised his usefulness. And there has been a sort of respect that grew for the man, and Loisy, as the brute that he was, reckoned that it'd.be better to settle objectives eyes in the eyes with a glass of liquor, rather than amidst the theatrics of the council. This was the style of leadership he had already in the army: talk to the people in question, exchange a few blows if need be, and move onwards.

Loisy was set. He was going to do all he could to achieve his goal. In contradiction to this blunt and relentless nature, he truly was ready to crumble and perish under the workload if it meant he'd.leave this colony in the glory he wished. Was it apparent to all others? Probably not. To him and his partisan? Water clear.

Whether he'd actually be up to this task, only the future will tell......

Von Gaussenberg falls in with the general round of applaus and agrees to a meeting in private with the new appointed governor later.

When they meet in more secretive manner the Prime Administrator would repeat his intention for the immediate investments he is planning:
1. transfer the support for the Cathedral construction he had pledged and promised the last decade, to show that he is a man who keeps his word and also to improve the compliance of the populace through the proven influence of the imperial faith
2. Invest in interplenatary communication. One thing the latest crisis showed was the vulnerability of their current Astropathic choir, so he wants to ensure that there are secure channels to reach their contacts off world. Specifically he will ensure that each of them - the Cardinal, the Colononel-to-be-governor and himself have a heavily encrypted phone to directly call each other in case of crisis to avoid misunderstandings as well as another secure line to reach their respective imperial higher ups without interference of the other two rulers. A precaution to keep the scales of power balanced. He would also continue networking and lobying in the Imperial Administration.
3. Pay for the Genescanners they talked about to be installed, but with some modification. They should not only be used for detection of mutation but also for plague detection and possibly even to track vaccination stats and the like. Basically they shall play a role in pandemic prevention.


Regarding the bigger long time picture, when it comes to dividing the tasks between the three of them, von Gaussenbergs would go for an overall approach of foccusing on crisis prevention, production improvements and infrastructure. This would in the next decades include for the first: things like vaccination campaigns and stockpiling of medicine for the most common plagues, improve water purification and general recycling systems to keep enough ressources for the growing population on world, maybe even stuff like early warning systems for asteroids and the like.
To meet the tithes von Gaussenberg would generally steer towards keeping the bureaucracy somewhat at bay and the red tape limited. If a certain measurement makes it easier to meet the tithes, the paperwork can be quite forgiving under his rulership.
Infrastructure wise he would focus on making the hive and manufactorums work as efficient as possible and use up the ressources provide with the least possible losses.
In general he would not interfer with the other twos powerplays, just generally trying to serve the Imperium as good as he can.

Edit: also there are no hard feelings towards Loisy. Von Gaussenberg remains a teamplayer and would stick to his word not even recruiting a personal Bodyguard but completely relying on Loisys men

Time passes quickly and uneventfully for the next 20 years and many wonderous things come to pass. The world develops from a C- (Underveloped Civilized) to a G- (Minor Garrison world). You witness the following events unfold.

-The spaceport and orbital dockyards are finally completed, opening up the world to vast amounts of trade. Ships from all over the sector begin to arrive, and the Imperial Navy itself establishes a presence at the dockyards as the world becomes a place for ships of the line to re-supply and repair themselves. Ancient wise Tech Priests immigrate to your world, beinging the knowledge to fashion larger warships with them.

-Transport ships carrying Imperial Guard regiments also begin using your world as a port of call and soldiers often journey to the planet's surface to enjoy shore leave.

-The planet raises 3 Imperial Guard regiments which join the Primarch Guilliman's Indomnitus Crusade. Meanwhile, a handful of survivors from the fabled first regiment return to your world and re-join the PDF as trainers. They're tight lipped, but rumor has it that the first regiment was nearly wiped out and combined with other regiments during the long war against the Tau Empire.

-On the civilian side, the exportation of raw materials increases exponentially, as does immigration coming into the world. By the end of the 20 year period, the population stands at 3 billion souls, most of which are crammed into the single main hive.

-Your proto hive becomes a true Hive and it is named after the late Governor, Hive Gallows. Construction of the massive Cathedral is also completed and it attracts pilgrims from across the sector.

-The Arbites establish a few precinct houses within the Hive and outside the Hive. Regular enforcers still uphold the law, but the Arbites invest heavily in under hive special operations, and other more clandestine efforts.

-The Inquisition is never spotted though there are rumors of Inquisitorial agents lurking about quietly.

-A few minor cult rebellions are crushed, though nothing that required an extensive military operation. No genestealer cults though (that are known anyway).

-The bio scanners are large and cumbersome, and sometimes unreliable, but a few are installed in critical locations. (The space port, PDF HQ, and the Arbites also have one). It is unknown how well they perform but the ocassional mutant is identified and executed as a result.

-The Colonel starts having nightmares that he will become infected by a genestealer cult and that the world will fall because of his failings.

-Everything seems to happen so quickly. A wise old man is heard saying that in the Era Indomnitus, worlds are birthed and died more quickly than ever. Does that saying apply to your world?


-Faction Leaders:

Governor/PDF Commander: Louise
Prime Minister: Gaussenberg
Ad Mech: Mencandrite
Ecclesiarchy: The Bishop/the Cardinal
Arbites: Senior Judge Dreyfus (More like Judge Dredd than the whig wearing type)
Imperial Navy: Commander Nadlin Summers.

The Council Chamber

The chamber was larger than it had been in the past, and had significantly more gothic ornamentation but was otherwise little changed from the past. It was late at night and the room was dimly lit.

It did have a few new faces though.

Commander Summers was an Imperial Navy Captain of the Lunar Class Cruiser, the Rightous. She appears as a middle aged woman, pale white skin from spending a lifetime in the void, with just a few wrinkles in the skin, and a few augmentations, just a simple augmetic eye, but her biography placed her age at well over 100 standard years.

"Good Evening gentlemen. I am sure you have heard the news. Your world is now subject to tithe grade Exacto Extremis. All available resources need to be shifted toward ship building. This is necessary for the Navy to recover from the losses inflicted on us by the So Called Ark of Omen at the battle of Solidado. Unfortunately, the rumors are true. A Bale fleet of the Dark Mechanicum have overrun nearly a half dozen worlds and inflicted heavy losses on our fleet. Your world will play a crucial role in rebuilding the fleet. Do you have any questions?"

Mechandrite whirls and buzzes at the mention of Exacto Extremis:

"I calculate significant hardship resulting from the revised tithe grade. Malnutrition will increase by 25%. Disease will increase by 45.2% life expectancy for un-augmented human life will drop significantly as well."

The Bishop frowns at the thought. "Commander, is there anyway we could defer the tithe? Our people are not accustomed to this degree of hardship. The adjustment would be...a difficult one."

Summers shrugs. "Your only alternative would be to find wrecked ships to salvage, and be successful at it. There have been some space hulk sightings in the sector, and I would gladly provide you with that information if you planned to hire privateers to investigate. There are obvious risks to that course of action as well though."

Prime Minister von Gaussenberg had followed the planets development with quite some satisfaction, as most of the pessimistic events he tried to calculate for did not come to pass. No planetary pandemics, no asteroid impacts, no Xenos invasions - yet. Overall they had an almost perfect start with more like... minor hickups. And knowing about other worlds stony way from the birthing throes to being fully fledged imperial worlds, he could put the sting of their sudden increased tithe rate in the right perspective. As bad as Mechandrites prediction sounded, they were preparing for this a long time and would do their part, as the Imperium demanded.

Therefore he greeted Commander Summers with all respect that was due for a high ranking officer of the Imperial Navy, chipping in to put Mechandrites doubts into the right perspective "Bonifatius Reach will of course comply with what the Imperium is asking in these dire times. While the price seems harsh at the moment, we are fully aware of the importance of it and will be proud to do our part - just as the Imperium always held its protective fatherly hand above us.
Please understand all seemingly objecting points made in this councel merely as musing over how to best preserve our ability to maximize the tithes we can exact in the future. The more of our workforce we can preserve now, the better we will be able to repair and produce ships in the future.

The space hulk does sound interesting, but my knowledge in this regard is very limited. Could you elaborate on the immediate risks that would be involved? And for the immediate situation, could your subordinates forward to my people a list of ship repairs and ressources with highest priority to get the surviving ships in the fight? We should at least get that going immediatly while we are planning forward."

Summers should soon get the impression, that von Gaussenberg is fully on board with fullfilling what the Imperium asks for and seems to have little ethical problems with sacrificing a significant price in lives and wealth of the planet, if this is necessary. He would PREFER to not cripple Bonifatius Reach though as in the long term, more ressources can be provided for the imperium if the workers are not worked to death now.



_____________
As he by now goes in the second half of his second century, the Administrator starts to feel the limitations of rejunivation treatments and since some years is always accompanied by Konrad von Bülow, jokingly often called "Gaussenberg junior" as the younger, 50-something Administrator Secundus is a very close protegee of the Prime Minister and quite similar in focus, world view and methods. Born on Mordian like von Gaussenberg it is obvious that he is groomed to succeed the elder and therefore attends most meetings as his secretary and assistant.

Summers was expecting that kind of answer from Von Gaussenberg...compliance from the local authorities. Not that there was much they could do. She commanded a cruiser in orbit over the planet, which...until she left the system, made HER the De Facto Governor of this world by simple virtue of firepower alone.. and everyone in the room knew it.

Still she was determined to appear to be magnanimous in this situation.

"It simply comes down to salvaging wrecked ships. That's always much easier than building from scratch. You have six system defense vessels, three of which are capable of warp travel. If your vessels assist the Navy in salvaging wrecked ships, either within your system or out of your system, than the bounty is deducted from your tithe and your people can breathe a little easier. I think it's a very generous offer. We usually just commandeer the system ships when a tithe like this comes due."

"As for the risks, salvage is extremely dangerous for the salvage crews. And you run the risk of attracting the attention of heretics and other threats. To be quite honest. I think the only reason why your world hasn't been attacked yet is because it is relatively new...er re-established. That could change quickly if you became more...pro-active in the sector."

"Of course, I'm sure your Faith will steer you toward the correct conclusion." She glares at the Bishop.

Von Gaussenberg nods "And we are very greatful for your patience and trust in our capabilities to handle your requests." The question of how to best use the SDF boats and deploy troops for potential boarding parties he leaves to Governor Loisy and his associates - they were far more capable of answerung these. He does have some other questions though, making notes and already shifting recources on his tablet while he is at it. "Regardless of these ships being restored from salvages or build from the keel: sooner or later they will need crews. Does the Navy prefer to provide the crewmen themselves or should we begin drafting and training an adequate number on world? What about other ressources like water, food, fuel? Especially regarding the former we are in a bit of a pinch, as you might have noticed that Bonifatius Reach is rather dry. Forgive me if the request is too frank, but is there a possibility of your ships helping our own boats to tow some ice asteroids from the outer rims of the system into our orbit? It would make supplying the fleet much easier. And while we are at it one might think about towing some rock asteroids too to provide the raw materials for repairs without the need of lifting them up from the surface."

With the completion of the Cathedral, the Cardinal was free to spread his influence across two new fronts, the first was building up the Out-Hive missionary and shrines. In addition, he began building his contacts across the sub-sector.

He had a tight grip on the food production and a strong hand on luxury manufacture on St. Bonifactius' Reach. In addition, he had a strong hand in managing the Space Port itself thanks to his funding and land grants. He had considerable sway in what cargo could land, where it could be stored, which cargo had easy access to distribution, and what cargo could leave. This power gave him lee-way with the Ad-Mech, but he mostly left them to their own devices; confident that Mechandrite had learned from 01's errors.

However, for the most part he contented himself with gaining more wealth, influence, and power here and abroad. Several times in the two decades he left the planet in order to conclave with his peers, leaving the day-to-day operations to the Bishop. The man lacked some vision, but he managed as an administrator in the Cardinal's absence. However, the Cardinal still preferred to travel lightly, with only a few priestly aides and his own sense of pomp and grandeur to accompany himself.

While off-world the Cardinal looked to three key tasks. First, he strove to negotiate and authorize the opening of a new Convent for the Order of the Sainted Choir of Battle Sisters on St. Bonifactious Reach. Second, he also updated and received, painful Rejuvenate treatments. Third, Richemont spent time building an off-world support network, should his new Governor decide he no longer wanted to play nice with the Cardinal's power network. Afterall, he needed counter-balances to the new powers Loisy held.

The Cardinal had a strong grip on St. Bonafactius" Reach, but one should always hedge their bets.

 Easy E wrote:
With the completion of the Cathedral, the Cardinal was free to spread his influence across two new fronts, the first was building up the Out-Hive missionary and shrines. In addition, he began building his contacts across the sub-sector.

He had a tight grip on the food production and a strong hand on luxury manufacture on St. Bonifactius' Reach. In addition, he had a strong hand in managing the Space Port itself thanks to his funding and land grants. He had considerable sway in what cargo could land, where it could be stored, which cargo had easy access to distribution, and what cargo could leave. This power gave him lee-way with the Ad-Mech, but he mostly left them to their own devices; confident that Mechandrite had learned from 01's errors.

However, for the most part he contented himself with gaining more wealth, influence, and power here and abroad. Several times in the two decades he left the planet in order to conclave with his peers, leaving the day-to-day operations to the Bishop. The man lacked some vision, but he managed as an administrator in the Cardinal's absence. However, the Cardinal still preferred to travel lightly, with only a few priestly aides and his own sense of pomp and grandeur to accompany himself.

While off-world the Cardinal looked to three key tasks. First, he strove to negotiate and authorize the opening of a new Convent for the Order of the Sainted Choir of Battle Sisters on St. Bonifactious Reach. Second, he also updated and received, painful Rejuvenate treatments. Third, Richemont spent time building an off-world support network, should his new Governor decide he no longer wanted to play nice with the Cardinal's power network. Afterall, he needed counter-balances to the new powers Loisy held.

The Cardinal had a strong grip on St. Bonafactius" Reach, but one should always hedge their bets.

[Excellent. I'll have to give you a Sisters of Battle Presence! Feel free to start writing them into the narrative. Not a massive presence but at least a convent somewhere]

Summers nodded her head to Gaussenberg.

"Oh you'll be supplying the crews for the tithe as well. Not the officers though. They come from the Naval Academy, but all the enlisted and the servitors. As for the fuel, I'm sure we'll be able to coordinate efforts to extract the necessary resources from across this stellar system."

"In any case, I'm sure you all have much planning to do so I will leave you all to it. I'm anxious to return to my ship, as I am sure you understand."

As she begins to exit Mechandrite begins to rattle off his prognosis out of habit, which causes a smirk from the Captain.

"Exacto...Extremis. Calculating..and extrapolating over 10 year period. Luxury good production, slash to 0% null production. Food subsidies...slash to 50% but may need to slash to 100%...probability unknown. Probability social unrest...high. Probability contagion/sanitation/plague. Medium to High."




Decisions to Contemplate

-Keep the 6 system defense ships in system for planetary defense, or send them into the warp to help the Nabvy look for salvage?

-What do you tell the people about the tithe? Do you tell them about a possible discount if salvage is found?

-Any steps to prepare for the tithe's hardships?

Administrator von Gaussenberg stands up, makes the sign of the Aquila and bows a little bit, as the Navy representative leaves - which given his age might take a little while and a bit of assistance by his younger aide. "Emperor bless you, Commander"

As the council settles back in he looks over to Mechandrite and points out - in a friendly, not judging way "We all knew this day would come. We had decades of peace and prosperity and that was for the most part because other worlds shouldered the weight of enemy agression and heavy tithes to keep us save. Now it is time to do our part - whatever the cost.

I would like to propose some ideas for discussion. I imagine matching the necessary adjustments with a larger media campaign. Picture a series of not only short advertisements but maybe a mini-series of full fleged picts in the cinemas, narrating the short but amazing success story of our planet, but from an imperial perspective. Show the populace the heavy toil of workers in the manufactorums of Verghast, to produce the prefab blocks that build our hives foundations. Picture the marvelous pearl of our world comming into focus of a perfidious alien invader - fought back under brave sacrifices by the adamant crewmen of Hydraphurs Navy. Some veterans of our first regiments shown fighting side by side with heroes from Catachan, Cadia, Armageddon... all the pathos and gravity you can imagine. And then, when we highlighted how much we were protected to flourish the way we did by the sacrifice of others, shift the focus to some small newfounded colony somewhere else. Show them a happy little family, building a farm to toil away and make a living of their own, besieged on all sides by disaster and enemies and ask the viewer "We had our heroes, will we step up to be a hero now?" - or something like that.

Sell the populace on the idea that this is not a punishment, this is an opportunity to be a hero - whatever this looks like. Celebrate manufactorum crews that turn over to 16 hour shifts as if they were veterans of a battle. Give them imagines of Navy crewman in splendid uniforms going out and seeing the universe to help with enlistment. Where food is rationed, show a healthy Bonifation breaking his bread to give it to a starving imperial child that looks like one from the newer colonies from the pictscreen and so on." He looks around what the others think about the general line of thought.


[Disclaimer: the following is in character in a very grimdark setting. Anything said does not reflect the writers opinion. If it is against forum standards feel free to contact me and I will edit this post]

"Meanwhile it cannot be denied that some... adjustments will be necessary. I propose to modify our legal code to change all punishments to either hard forced labor or induction to be a servitor. And lets be honest, with hard forced labor I mean working them to death. No point in picturing this any more pretty, because that's what is needed. We WILL loose some of our population to starvation and exhaustion, we might as well let criminals pay most of that price to preserve as much of the innocent as possible. And while we are at it, I feel it is my duty to give another proposition: it might be useful to select a part of our population as sacrifice to take the fall for the rest of them. Choose some group, be it some subsect of the imperial cult, the inhabitants of some region or the like and prop them up as supposed traitors. Doesn't really matter if they are, as long as the majority believes it. Afterwards we can use a significant amount of slave labor without loosing to much of the favor of the majority of the population which will be the base stock of our future population. It is cruel, but instead of everyone paying a hefty price we might as well select some to pay the ultimate price for all of us."

After von Gaussenberg being rather peaceful and lighthanded in his rule so far, the propositions indeed sound quite uncharacteristic for him. But in the grant scheme of things he might have a point as those selected as "survivors" would have a good chance to get through the crisis better.

Finally, Loisy entered the room. He had urgent matters from the Munitorum to attend and thus he had had his most trusted officer and second in command, Lieutenant-Colonel Boucher, replace him and take notes of what had happened, but he didn't intervene, as he was only here to take the place of his master.

When the Colonel stepped in, he was disappointed to see that the navy representatives had left. In fact, he would have had quite the important question: did they contact the Munitorum about this? All their demands would be de facto null if not, as the world now being a garrison world, albeit yet minor grade, it depended from the Imperial Guard first and foremost. The Colonel new that the greater picture out there in the galaxy was never truly full on their part, so they needed to not divide their contribution too much and instead trust that by firstly paying what they owe they administrative overlord, they'd make sure not to make mayhem in the wider schemes and projections. Besides, diverting that much ressources was not really pleasing to him, at least not in the quantity he vaguely got a glimpse of from some reports that preceded Summers.

Such a question would have to be asked later then.

For now, he saluted von Gaussenberg friendly. While their work relation sometimes got heated, true respect and even some friendship installed. Since then, with the tasked parted in a clever way, they didn,t need to actually have an argument.

To the Cardinal, the salute was colder. When, they had this talk twenty years ago as he became governor, the matters were settled clearly: the cardinal from then onwards knew he was on the radar, as the threats were not even veiled or hinted, but paradoxaly, some measure of balance was reached: stay out of my radar, and everything be find. Overstep, and you'll find yourself dead before you know it. With the backing of the Munitorum, even a contagent of sororitas was not nearly enough to actually tip the threat, and as Loisy trusted, the cardinal, being, he thought, more interested in self agrandisment than risking his life, was most content to just be left to his own devices as long as he posed no hinderance.

The Colonel was visibly worn. To all, he told of his late nights at work, his visits to the garrisons and training fields, the overseeing of manoeuvers, the setting in motion precisely that which he had candidated for. And it was definitly part of it.

However, he had told literaly no one about the nightmares that plagued him for nights on end. Of the cheking in the morning, to make sure his features were unchanged. Of the voluntary bio scan tests to check himself for deviance. Nor of the voices in his head, cackeling and mocking at his fears with alien cruelty. All that was for him, and him alone. But to compensate, he had found a helper. Boucher was the man that managed to restrain, calm, or divert attention in his fits of madness. Unbeknowst to all, Boucher was not just a scribe, nor a second in command. He was the voice of reason to the Colonel's side. He had been the one to make him strike some form of status quo, despite the Colonel's paranoia. Make no mistakes: Boucher was just as relentless, blunt and militaristic, but he hadn,'t fallen to the Colonel's paranoia. Not yet, at least. For now, while he regularly flung into rage, several time sover checked and cleansed the pdf and enforcers, or the workers, things mostly moved in the right direction. But deep down, Loisy wished for one thing above all now: to finish this world's transformation as fast as possible, and step down from his position as governor.

Loisy spoke: "Comrades, what are the news?"

The freshly shaved Cardinal entered the chambers, far too late to see the Imperial Navy Captain. As part of his Rejuve treatments, he had to shave off his long, grey beard, and his signature bushy eyebrows were now much less wild. He sported the white robes and red vestments, and it was with some satisfaction that he noted his official hat was the tallest in the room.

He returned the Governor's cool salute with the sign of the Aquila. He noticed that LTC Bloucher was with him, and that gave the Cardinal some measure of satisfaction.

As he feared, the Navy had come to take their pound of flesh. Loisy had gotten his wish, and now everything he (and the others) had worked for was in danger. The requirements of the Imperial Navy combined with the requirements of the Munitorium would be crushing. The challenge of the Worker's Union would pale in comparison to what was before them now.

Be careful what you ask, for the Emperor may grant it.

"Comrades, I am sure we all recall the challenge of the Worker's Union from decades past. We were able to crush them through a three-tiered approach, the Food stipends, the creation of a tiered society, and a harsh crackdown on dissent.

What we will face now will be 100 times more challenging. We all know that the traditional controls we have implemented in the past will no long be sufficient. Our friend Mechandrite has shared the calculations with us all and the Bread and Circus strategy is unsustainable. We can implement Von Gaussenberg's suggestions, and it will still not be enough.

The only way to lessen the burden is via the Salvage option. We all know that we can not maintain order, and meet the requirements of the Munitorium and the Imperial Navy at the same time.

However, I expect that the Governor has more expertise in this area than I or Von Gaussenberg." The Cardinal bowed his head respectfully to Loisy.

Be careful what you pray for indeed.

A few clerks are seen scurrying through the room as one rushes off to transmit an encoded vox message to the Munitorum Liaison Office. A few minutes later a servitor returns with a scroll and hands it to the Governor.

"Munitorum confirms all Navy requests have maximum priority."


That essentially meant that the Tithe is whatever the Navy says it is.

At least that meant that no new Munitorium burdens would be forthcoming. However, the world was obligated to host and accommodate around one full Imperial Guard regiment at a time, and have enough weaponry to resupply additional Imperial Guard units scheduled for re-supply, so most of the existing burdens would not be going away.

However, on the plus side, that also meant that a highly trained Imperial Guard regiment from off world was already on hand to assist the PDF with any civil disturbances.

The Colonel struggled to recall the name of the current regiment...

Loisy had his answer.

"If the munitorum so wishes, then we will comply. However, I'd rather build these ships rather than try and salvage them. These wrecks are entry points for genstealers, heretics and xenos of all sorts, and I do not want to bring them to our shores. Better they stay in their derelicts. Mechadandrite, what do you say about our industrial and orbital dockyards capabilities?

However, if we find some way to redirect the derelicts somewhere else where we don't risk bringing in any form of infestation from off world, then this could be done. In any case, whatever mission we would mount out there will need total spiritual overseeing. It will come to the Munistorum. Are you able to send priests and sororitas into the stars, if we have got no better choice but to actually go salvage?"

Loisy was again being the malicious player, and it seemed, yet again, that he had gained tremendous experience in pushing others in delicate positions. He would actually make good use for the Cardinal, but deplete him of some soritas or have him liable for blame by the Navy for not cooperating, and no one was better poised than the military arms of the Imperium to that purpose.

"Von Gaussenberg, I think you are more or less right. We have become a fortress world, albeit minor. The duty of any citizen of saint bonifatius, the primary duty that is, is to die so the imperium can live. Be it in the ammunition dumps as logistics and factory recruits, or on the battlefield far from here. This is what we have been engraining into them from the moment we steered towards this future, and it is now time to mobilise it to full force. I'll have my communications offices roll the drums and motivational efforts wash over this tide like a tidal wave, but we should not forget that even here, traitors are plenty. These traitors musnt get an opportunity to slip away or cause damages.

We will no longer be able to soothe people with luxury goods. But the politic we used for the trade union somewhat stands. Glory, honour and fame to those who follow and sacrifice, bastardly death and toture to those who do not yield.".

Loisy was not very specific here, but he was governor, not administrator, and his role was to lead the way, not to care about every minute detail... Although he would, in shadows, try to, to make sure no one tries to stab him in the back. He relied on the military mindset the newer generation were possessed of to hold the line against all hardship.

As he had more or less adressed all representatives of importance, paused, and looked them into the eyes, waiting for everyone to speak under his half mad glaze, and tell him what they thought... His eyes were ferocious, even tired, and somewhat told everyone that he would probably not actually have got an ear for just any proposals. But they were used to his temper, and knew how to contradict him in a way that didn't spark his paranoia, so there was, hopefully, no reason this would derail this time.

Von Gaussenberg did not really love the signs of Loisys paranoia showing again, even though he understood where the man was coming from. Regarding the possible attempt to salvage ships he gives his council "I would suggest we try our luck with salvaging, it's the best way to provide the Navy with the ships they need immediatly in a time frame short enough to plug the holes in our battle lines before the enemy can seize the initiative. But I understand that we have to be careful. We could steer for smaller vessels, which seem to me to be easier to cleanse and control, should they be infested. And while it might be easier to rebuild them in direct contact with our world, we might be able to do it in a highly quarantined shipyard not to close, maybe at the L4 or L5 Lagrange points." he looks over to Mechandrite if that would be possible.

"While I agree that the Sororitas with the emperors blessing - and their heavier arms and armor - might be excellently suited to clean up these vessels during a bording action, we will need "boots on the ground" to hold the decks that have been cleansed and support the daughters of the convent. And only the PDF and Guard can supply the numbers necessary for that. We should also keep in mind that PDF soldiers are much easier to replace then the Adeptas. As our world will suffer a lot more attention from the Imperiums enemies in the near future, regardless of our actions, we should be vary of expending a ressource as valuable as these elite warriors."
Which was his way of not outright refusing Loisys idea to hand the cleaning operation to the Cardinal, but putting it in a perspective that might actually work. Even though it was obvious what Loisys intentions had been, he indirectly had a point that powerarmored troops with the holy trinity of flamer, bolter and melta were excellently suited to fight in the confined environment of ships.

"I would not concede the luxury item production just yet. Our artisans have gained significant experience and fame in this regard. With the starport opperational we might be able to barter our production away to other worlds and Rogue traders in exchange for usable ship hulls and bargain used trading or older military vessels. Anything we can get cheap now and then transfer into a halfway usable support ship with weapons as soon as possible. Mid- to long term we should and will build serious and well functioning battle ships like Sword classes and the like, but for the immediate future we need first and formost just hulls with guns strapped to them and we need them now." he looks over to the Cardinal, hoping that this way he could preserve some of his well developed domain while stil chipping in for the immediate crisis.

"I will try my best to pull every string I can to get us ships or ressources. Over the years I hope I made some friends in the Administratum. Who knows, maybe we get lucky and can convince some fleet Admiral to lend us some Destroyers until we are able to set things up for production."

He turns to Mechandrite and poses a question, without shame or feeling any guilt to be blunt about it "Esteemed colleague, could you make contact with your superiors and bargain with them for as much support as possible to construct a shipyard in our system? I am fully aware of the old saying that you can never have "fast, good and cheap", usually only one of the three and two only if you suffer in the third. We need that shipyard fast an and it must not be bad, so it will be expensive. If they would agree to lend us a factory ship I would recommend to offer them extensive mining rights in our system. Of course only if the Governor agrees. But we should try to set up such a deal, as it would help tremendously."

[by the way: the dark and sinister propaganda film used to lure young people into the clutches of the Navy...]

The Cardinal gritted his teeth. Yet again, the man's paranoia would lead to ruin for the Imperium.

"Of course, I can have Priests go with the boarding parties for any salvage." He could think of a few to send away.

"As you are well-aware, the Sororitas are beholden to their own command structure and make their own decisions on operational duties. I can inquiry, but highly doubt they will have sufficient numbers. They are better suited acting as the righteous hand of the Emperor in supporting the Adeptus Arbites and Enforcers planetside to ensure your will is done.

If we lose the food stipend AND the luxury goods then we will surely need them to quell the people. Patriotic and religious fervor can take some citizens only so far." There was no way in the Warp he was going to let Loisy manage all the guns planetside. The man was unstable. Plus, the Cannoness of the Order had valuable connections of her own to keep on-side.

"We may also want to consider press-ganging work gangs and the like from the underhive with the help of the Astra Militarum, PDF, and Enforcers. We can use the press-ganged underhivers in the Manufactorums until we have a ship to send them off on. It would reduce any delay in supporting our Navy bretheren. Perhaps they could boost Luxury productions temporarily and stockpile them for the more difficult times ahead. Such a stockpile, strategically dolled out would allow for Richemont to keep the aristocracy inline with the new Governor's agenda. Of course, he knew if he said as much out loud, the Governor would simply dismiss him out of hand.

Loisy listend carefully. He shook is head, and answered first on where he was most comfrotable: army.

"I will talk to the Sisters. The PDF nor the guard have got the strength of will and equipment to actually cleanse ship wrecks. They are ill trained to taht. Sending them would end in disaster. However, manning the docks will be their task no questions asked, but we need to redirect as many bioscanners as possible to make sure no taint goes through and quarantine all docks that are to receive the derelicts. And hear me: as heartbreaking as it is for me to sacrifice men in this way, I am not certain yet that this will not be a suicide mission for those. We cannot afford the least taint, and should it break trhough, i'll yet have got to actually see what mettle the guard were hosting are made of...

Choices have got to be made. Food is necessary and should remain aflot. Luxury good will wait. While von gaussenberg's reasonning is good in a sense, that we should retain this experience for further use when the tithe has passed, it is probably impossible, although I want to here the Magos again and in details about this. Of course, as our esteemed prime minister said, I grant all access to all the ore ressources you need for the time being, as long as we are not back to normal. Should some luxury goods still be produced, I task you, Cardinal, with hoarding them, and to be ready to hand them over to the administratum in case of emergency.

As for the gangers... One should be wary of those. I lay this to your better understanding. Do we want to put them at work and risk uprising? Or to send them as cannon fodder for the navy, and risk hurting our reputation? This is a matter of politics i'm not too sure about. "

Loisy paused for a moment to rethink somewhat before continuing. In fact, he was being honest, but he also wanted to discharge some of the decision making, feeling himself overweighted. More or less, he'd give his approval, but his own decisions would mostly stick to measures to make sure the Munistorum is conainted, potential genestealer cults contained, and military common sense enforced.

"What say you, while my second in command tries to form all this into concrete measures on paper?"

MONTHS LATER

Implementation of the heavy tithe was in full swing some three months after that meeting.

Manufactorum work schedules nearly doubled while the price of food and other necessities slowly crept upward. Many things that the people had come to take for granted slowly faded away, leaving grimness and hardship in its wake.

And yet so far the people had shouldered their burdens admirably. Apart from a few scattered food riots, easily handled by the enforcers, there had been few serious civil disturbances. Meanwhile the Medicae had become proficient in using hive sector quarantines to keep various influenza like viruses from killing too many citizens when they swept through a hive sector.

The orbital dockyards had expanded rapidly in the last few months as the rough skeleton of a new frigate was starting to take shape. Meanwhile, one of the system defense ships had returned with confirmed reports of a hollowed out Imperial Cruiser that had drifted in from the warp. The Cruiser had been towed into the dockyards and was now being extensively worked on. The tonnage salvaged from this find alone promsied to a serious boon for the planet and...perhaps even an earnest respite from the merciless tithe.

Administrator von Gaussenberg sits in the break room for the orbital dockyards command staff, sunken deep into a large pile of schematics, economic forecasts and complex calculations. In Front of him stands a large cup of recaf that by now has become as cold as his buttered bagel has become stale, but he wasn't really a gourmet anyway as long as the stuff kept him going.

He had grown fond of the place, mostly because it was relatively quite and a large window offered a good view on the salvaged hull of the cruiser. With a bit of luck that thing would save millions of workers lives down in Bonifatius reach - if they could make it voidcapable again that is.

He leaned back from his schematics, taking a bite and a sip of his tepid drink, letting his mind wander for a moment.

Colonel Loisy was in the PDF HQ, recieving his counterpart from the Longknives, the Sororitas Superior, and the enforcers, to discuss matters of training, protection of the salvage crews and orbital docks, and other matters. Behind him sat Lieutenant Colonel Boucher and his bodyguards.

The room was a mess of maps and display boards detailing reports, protocols, and of agitation as everyone present srambled to factor all new elements into the managment of their own units. Envoys and liaison officers ran to and fro, in and out, as messages and orders where delivered. At 6 pm, a break is ordered for all exhausted officers to take their breathe and clear their thought, as they hadn't seen the light of the day since late in the previous night.

It was during that pause, as Loisy and Boucher were talking about how they started to get suspicious of some enforcer elements, that on of their bodyguards ran towards them, and alarms started blaring...

The Orbital Dockyard

The first thing Gaussenberg noticed was the large beam of light shooting across his window. He may not have noticed it at first, but then it happened again...and again and again. Large beams of light shooting out into the void.

At that point it probably registered for him that the orbital defence batteries were opening fire at something in the void..

Then the alarms sounded.

PDF HQ Command Information Center

Loise on the other hand knew exactly what was happening as soon as it happened through the large volumes of data displayed for all to see and the chatter of the officers.

"Six infidel class raider confirmed inbound. They'll be on top of us in under an hour."

"Confirmed larger reading is a cruiser. Designation: Devastation Class. It's an attack carrier."

"How did they translate from the warp so far from the mandeville point? Those readings can't possibly be right."

"Can anyone raise the Rightous? They were supposed to be on patrol in the outer system right?"

"Vox from the Rightous confirms they are burning hard back in system to assist. Same with the system defence ships."

"Not nearly fast enough. We'll have to weather this on our own for the time being. Emperor help us..."

Soon all eyes were on the Governor.

A stumbling aide managed to address him.

"Sir, PDF Orbital and Suborbital are ready to do their duty. Aircraft are in the air and any void capable craft are scrambling to join the defense in the void. PDF ground forces and the Bronthians are stationed on bases across the continent, all outside the Hive." "The Hive is lightly defended but has capable void shields to wary an orbital bombardment. Do you wish to send some of our forces to defend the Hive or maintain the current ground force deployment?"

Orbital Dockyards:

Soon Von Gaussenberg found himself ushered into the dockyard's command center where he saw a similar display and heard similar anxious assessments of the PDF and Naval Officers stationed there.

Eventually one of Gaussenberg's protection detail approaches. "Sir, we can try to get you down to the surface via a light shuttle, but the window is closing fast. It's your call sir."

The Cardinal

Loisy yelled "Brigadier, report!

-Sir, Heretic fleet detected in orbit, they are inbound planetside, ETA 24 hours, orbital bombardment ETA 12 hours.

-Clear out, to the meeting room, Boucher, send message to the Imperial Guard Sector command. Brigadier, go get the other commanders now."

They went, as Loisy ran towards the strategium to assess the situation. He was thinking of von Gaussenberg, there in orbit, and hoped he'd escape the orbital docks, he would be needed again. He looked at the charts and deploiement maps he had, updated every ten second or so as reports came upwards and units were activated. When the Sororitas and the Longknive Colonel entered, followed by the enforcers, Loisy made them sit and listen. Just as with that ambush, all paranoia and fear had left him. He was changed right befre their eyes, rejuvenanted by the adrelanine and instinct pumping into his every fibre. He was no longer the maddened governor. He was the beast of war Loisy. Even the Sororitas Sister Superior could feel something had changed in the man and didn't truly there answer back. Loisy started frantically pinning points on the map.

"Remember your duty. Delay the ennemy, while help arrive. Acknowledged?"

They answered positively. This was a strange way to introduce them to his plan. He paused for a second, sending away an order toa tank regiment to hand repair a minor track failure.

"Our goal is to force the traitor to confront us in a way that doesn't allow themm to concentrate their forces and to make use of our every heavy equipment."

He paused and draw.

"To that end, first, we must safeguard as many assets as possible. As the void shileds are not 100% effective, I dedicate my PDF to stay outside the hive, they arz already spread out to this end. Order has already been given to dig in, shelters are in place. And yes, vehicule shelters too, which means we have got heavy asset spread across the whole continent. They are relatively safe from orbital assauts, and they are impossible to kill all at once, but they will individualy be easily overwhelmed by traitor assaults."

He displayed pics of the hive.

"Two pissble objective are at hand according to my estimates. The dockyards themsleves in a attempt to thwart the Navy's restoration, or the Hive City to make the planet collapse. In any case, Only the Sisters would be able to make such a deploiement to the dockyards. Which means, considering the size of the armada, we cannot hope to hold them. As we cannot retreat either, every square inch must be mined and made to slow down and tire the ennemy as best as possible, while all ships part must be ready to be sabotaged lest the neemy expands its own fleet. The Navy won't say anything about this - they now what war is.

As for the Hive, the best case scenario is a full thrust assault, concentrated on the hive. Bronthian longknives are to be positionned in the Hive, in regards to their specialisation in close combat. Sisters of battles will assist as well, to bolster the numbers and bring welcomed powerarmour support. In thatr scenario, my PDF, after mustering following the orbital barrages, will be able to trap the traitors in the Hive and to harass them.

Another positive scenario would be to have the traitors run from pocket of PDF resistance to pocket of resistance. The time they'll need to overcome all of these mini strongholds will be too long for them to actually threaten the hive, and even make them vulnerable to counter attacks coming from the hive. However, the hive should ne be defenseless, as there is a risk of diversion. "

Loisy paused and started to draw some other schematics. For a moment, he fully forgot that if his PDF were to be decimated, the Cardinal would get the upper hand on him and his only protection and way to not have the world fall apart under his schmes would be to call in the Guard permanently. But he was far from this, and all focused on the coming war.

"Least good scenario for us is a two fold assault, where the traitors would pin down or encrile the hive without entering it, while destorying the pDF peace meal in the open. While this would devide their forces greatly, it would force us to make counter attacks least they actually take control of so much of the planet they can deny access to the IG relief forces. In that case, we would have to rush out in the open and shake the line to draw their forces to the hive, where to most resistance can be offered.

Arbites and enforcers will be fully committed to managing not only riots, but mostly monitoring the underhive, as it is totally possible the traitors have got accomplices down their ready to pounce at our backs and take the hive by surprise. This must not be allowed to stand."

"As for the docks, their militarily lost if the invasion force decides to go for it. However, in case we get any opportunity to hold longer, Sororitas QRF must be designated in advance and ready to fly there.".

"Any question? If not, then you know what to do: enforcers, arbites, contol the underhive. Sororitas, designate QRF to relief the dockyards if possible, and station the rest of your forces to defend the Hive. Longknives, defend the hive. To all PDF personnel, dig in, and hold your ground until any order to move it issued. That we perish if we weaken."

They went to their units, and all prepared to hold out against impossible odds.

Von Gaussenberg stared at the beams of lance fire with a mix of dread and fatalism. Well... sooner or later something like this was about to happen. While he went to the command center he mused about how much time he might have left... half an hour maybe? Looks like this would be one of the most important half hours of his live. He went in simultanously siphoning data through his cerebral implants and taking in as much Information as he could to make the best with what little he got. As his security detail approached him, he shook his head. "No, I'm only a humble servant of the Imperium and others can take my place. But the cruiser future navigator is already on board to oversee her thrones installation. She is a far too valuable ressource to fall into the enemies hand. Escort her planetside immediatly, then look for Konrad von Bülow. Until my safely return he is in charge of Administratum concerns on world. Protect him accordingly." With that he dismisses them, taking control of the dockyard unless he is met with serious resistance.


His immediate measures would be to try if the mechanics would be able to get the cruiser weapons, void shields or propulsion going again within that half hour, even if it is just enough for a single shot or five minutes of flight. Anything that would make them more then sitting ducks. He would also try to organize the dockyards crew to fight back as good as they can, using the space stations infrastructure like local depressuration or shenanigans with the artificial gravity to delay possible boarding parties. He gives the impression that delaying the enemy would be enough, as reinforcements were underway even though he very much doubted that. But any minute they could buy up here would save lives on the surface. Last but not least he taps into the command protocols of the stations and cruisers reactors, preparing them to overload... if the worst came to pass, von Gaussenberg would not go silently into the night...

Edit: He summoned up a vox unit nearby, hacking in his priority access codes to directly contact Cardinal Richemont and Governor Loisy. His voicemail was short and calm "I will do my best up here to buy you time. It was an honor serving on your side, gentlemen. Emperor with you and good luck."

The Cardinal was giving a speech to the people about "Faith carrying you through tough times" or some such pablum to help keep them in line. He had been touring the outer regions in an effort to keep food production up and wave the flag to the populace across the planet.

He was mid-speech when an terrified priest ran up on stage, waving his arms frantically. The Cardinal paused, reassured the crowd as the priest whispered the news frantically in his ear. He nodded grimly, his large hat bobbing.

"Get word to the Order. The Cathedral is in the hive, and can be defended by the PDF.

We the need the Order deployed to the outer-shrines in order to protect our resource supplies. Without them, the war is over before it even starts. Start to have the priests organize the Frateris Militia as well, they will report to the Sisters.

Finally, get my Aquila Lander ready, I need to get to capital immediately!"

The Cardinal then turned back to the crowd. He beamed out them and wrapped up his speech on a triumphant note. With that, he made is way through the crowd of well-wishers, waving, smiling, offering blessings, and shaking hands. His pace was measured and unhurried.

Once clear of the crowd, he tucked his hat under his arm and rushed to the Aquila lander. Things were about to get ugly and he hoped Governor Loisy and his troops were up to the challenge.

Loisy was made aware of Von Gaussenberg's vox call, and ordered a private box call to be established, hoping to give him some orders and ideas as to how to defend. The colonel was more frenzied than ever, all politics still absent from his mind as he bent all of his will to the war at hand.

"Gerbille, do you copy?
This is Panthère Alpha ."

"Gerbille, do you copy?".

In full military mode, Loisy was not even calling him by his name, but by his radio call sign. He swore. Then, with a crackle, Von Gaussenberg's voice was heard reporting back on air.

"Listen, barricade all entry points, especially those from below and over. Make sure all warriors are holding the corridors and set up patrols to listen so that no chaos forces can break through the walls and circumvent your positions. All docks and ship parts must be sabotaged, but detonated only.when.the ennemy is about to defuse them.

Whenever a corridor or stronghold is about to fall, make them retreat to the nearest, until all forces will end in the safest, easiest to defend room, so as to gain as much time as possible. Do not hesitate to insulate a section of docks from the rest once retreat is complete. Delegate this to the NCO, they know their business and will carry out the manoeuvres. Good look. It was an honour serving with you." The vow crackled again as Von Gaussenberg acknowledged, and this gave Loisy an idea. He should contact his old ennemy - an see what he was up to, as he could have got some additional, valuable informations.

He orders a private box call be set with the cardinal.

"Carabosse, this is Panthère Alpha, do you copy?

Report on you status, over."

No answer came, and Loisy calmy set to have a soldier go fetch some info from the Sisters of battle, as the vox crackled. But it was nothing more than interference, and he waited some more still.

Within a few hours of detecting the enemy ships, the Naval engagement around St. Bonnie's Reach was in full swing.

The engagement lasted for a good eight hours.

The two large orbital gun batteries along with several squadrons of void capable Thunderbolt fighters stationed at the docks acquitted themselves well in the conflict. Combined they managed to destroy 4 of the 6 Infidel class raiders before the orbital batteries were finally silenced from torpedo fire. The remaining two Infidel class raiders were forced to alter course away from the planet. The enemy cruiser however continued it's approach.

Then the fighter bays took a direct hit from a lance (massive energy weapon) from the Cruiser.

Orbital Dockyard Command Center

The station shuddered and jolted as void shields collapsed under withering lance fire from the enemy cruiser.

"Damage control teams and medicae to the fighter bays!" An officer yells through the vox as damage reports started to come in.

"Throne help us, there's nothing left down there."

"Contact. Bearing 580. Boarding torpedoes inbound."

Tension filled the air as the prospect of boarders filled everyone with dread.

PDF Command Center

Officers are pouring through the latest data on the battle above.

"Sir, revised projections based on the arch enemy cruiser's telemetry. It's slowed down considerably in the face of the orbital defenses. It looks like it's going to take an additional day now for the enemy to achieve low orbit."

Another officer laughs. "Looks like the old man upstairs has bought us some time eh. We better put it to good use then."

The Cardinal

A handful of Battle Sisters bow in reverence as the Cardinal prepares to depart for the capital. In their power armor they appear utterly fearless and determined to defend the outer shrines, and the sacred relics they contain.

As Governor - or in this situation rather General - Loisy instructed him, von Gaussenberg confirmed "We'll do our best. In my absence Konrad von Bülow will assist your endeavors on the surface."


Then it was up to the fighter pilots of the dockyard and by the throne, those daredevils indeed did a tremendous job. Von Gaussenberg could not prevent a little tear forming in his eye, as he witnessed their hangars being hit and destroyed, with all lives of the pilots and their groundcrews lost to the battle. He saluted them one last time at the window he stood at. A gesture that was not really common to him but felt right at the moment.

As the signal warning of boarding torpedos came in he ordered the defenders to their stations, reiterating the task of sealing of lost sections, to fight from one strongpoint and corridor to the next. All the while scrolling through the stations manuals to see if there were some tricks up his sleeves he could use to help the defenders. Maybe some sections could be flooded with hot steem to kill some intruders or throw the boarding torpedos of target, maybe some others could be vented in the right moment. He also made sure that the defenders got the intel they needed to fight - even if "that they needed" sometimes meant not telling them how bad their odds were to keep them in the fight.

Von Gaussenberg himself knew, that he would be little help in a fight with his flimsy laspistol. But in a way he also knew that the laspistols last shot was likely for himself to spare him the pain of being tortured by the enemy.

Cardinal Richemonte arrived at the Imperial Governor's palace, and was met be a PDF liason officer who tried to unsuccessfully buffalo his way past his small entourage waving a vox set.

Richemonte waved him in and grabbed the vox, "What is the situation?, he grimaced when the officer simply shook his head back.

" Panthere... ah..... Alpha..... this is ..... ummmm..... Carabosse...... I have just landed in the capital. Awaiting instructions.... ah..... Over?

Guilles has spent plenty of time recording on and using Vox for sermons and other lectures, but the intricacies of military communications were a bit unusual for him. They did not come natural, and he struggled to recall the coded phrases Governor Loisy had assigned them.

[Yes he can be a servo skull LOL. Don't count yourself out yet though. Your character is rolling well so far!]



The dockyards were helpless to stop the boarding torpedoes from closing the gap and attaching themselves to various parts of the station and then boring in.

In the command center Gaussenberg heard the frantic reports trickle in.

"Confirmed enemy are Heretic Astartes. Repeat heretic astartes have boarded."

The next hour was filled with intense dread as Gaussenberg watched via the vid screens as the Traitor Space Marines smashed their way through various defensive points, slaughtering everything in their way with horrifying speed and efficiency.

But then the traitors reached the second defensive perimeter, places where Gaussenberg had laid out his traps, and by some miracle the defensive line held.

After three long hours of unsuccessful probing attacks, the traitors were forced to fall back. Undoubtedly, they would attack again, but for now the defenders were holding on. But who knew for how much longer?


PDF Headquarters:


As the PDF and Bronthian Officers assessed the data at the station, other more disturbing reports started to trickle in.

"Sanctioned psykers report significant warp disturbance sir. Intelligence anticipates the arch enemy may try something soon."


Moments later...

"Contacts at nearly every air field and defensive silo and all the bases. Emperor help us. Traitors, heretic astartes, and deamons. They're coming right out of the warp and attacking."

At this moment, Loise may have realized the enemy's grand strategy. Overwhelm the planetary defenses with an onslaught from the warp before the cruiser arrived in orbit, then finish the paralyzed defenders off with landing parties and bombardment.

Hive Gallows

As air raid sirens sounded in the distance, crowds of people swarmed in around the Cardinal begging him for a blessing, and the Emperor's mercy. Only the menacing boltguns of his entourage of Sisters was enough to keep the crowd from rushing them.

Once the Cardinal drew closer to the PDF headquarters he saw a panicked stampede of people pressing in all around him and heard screaming in the distance. He saw an explosion in the distance and heard the sounds of las fire and bolter fire. Had the enemy breached the capital already? How was that even possible?

As the Cardinal neared the PDF HQ, Loisy, who had picked up the vox, used it to have the Cardinal's way freed and a meeting.point found so that he could enter.

Now was the worst possible time for the governor and the military commander he both was. The invasion that he faced was clearly over his ressources to actually counter, and with the Warp gates vomiting demons and traitors all over the planet, including inside the hive itself. As many ressources were put toninsure the safety of the shield generators, for fear the hive might be obliterated from orbit. His strategy of having most of his troops lay in ambush or pockets of resistance outside crumbled. Yes, it did work to a small extend, but with the Warp,.the strikes were so simultaneously carried out that what should have been a days on end rolling battle was over in matters of hours instead.

For the governor, it was probably even worse. He was now forced to consort with the Cardinal with matters about the warp and psykers. Forced to give in to his nemesis. But, the warbred madman that was currently overtaking Loisy's mind somehow managed it.

After a brief, but detailed exposé, he asked the Cardinal.

"Cardinal, what can we do to hold on longer in the face of demons? It is the greatest threat, even worse than Chaos Space Marines.

Besides, as you can see, what we now truly hold are parts of this hive, and the dock, to which we cling still. The QRF force that I had prepared should depart and help protect it. We need either the docks or the space port for Imperial guard Landers to deliver reinforcements. We must hold at least one of.those, but the odds are such in both places that there is no safe bet even in choosing only one to hold. However, if we can force.the ennemy to engage more troops in the docks, it is easy to sabotage and have them explode with all.hands, thus cutting the enemy's manpower.

As for the Hive, I have already given the order for total mobilisation, every tool is turned into a weapon and every weapon has been given to someone able to fight. All these people, unfit for dockyards urban combat, while sell there lives as dearly as possible.

But in face of the warp, we'll need more than grit and skill at arms, and it falls to the Munistorum to provide. Your expertise in this field is far greater than ours.".

Von Gaussenberg was quite surprised, that they had managed to withstand this first onslaught. Especially in the light of heretic astartes being involved in the attack. All the more reason to not get cocky about it. Assuming that the heretic counterparts had not forgotten their loyalist brethrens modus operandi over the millenia, Friedrich tries to organize the defenders to take special care regarding the reactor rooms and life support, as those would be excellent targets for an elite infiltration team. He also selects a couple of personell who are to frail to be of much use fighting and sits them on the cogitators to tightly monitor the datafeeds, looking for attempts to infiltrate their systems. If that hasn't happened already he orders the vital systems to be cut from all external access temporarily to make it harder to hack into them from outside.

As another measure he spreads out what could be called their "command structure", decentralizing it, so that a potential decapitation strike against the command center would be less fatal. Should it be stormed, the rest of the defence should not falter but instead organize around secondary and tertiary command lines.

Last but not least he gets to an internal vox, trying his best to raise the defenders spirits with a rousing speach, adressing them as the heroes they are and stressing that the enemy already threw his most elite troops at them and still mere mortals, humbly voidsmen, mechanics and clerks had withstood them. True scions of humanity and beacons of faith and good. That he was sure the emperor himself looked down on them right now with pride and that it was the greatest moment of pride of his - von Gaussenbergs - life, to serve amongst these brave few, that held the docks against overwhelming odds.

He knew full well that he did not have the Cardinals rhetoric talent, nor Governor Loisys militaristic experience, but tried his best to give the remaining crew the strength to endure what was still to come.



Contacting the surface he tried to get through to Loisys command bunker using the rather unfamiliar military code "Panthère Alpha, here is Gerbille. We were able to repell the first onslaught under considerable losses. The secondary defense line is stable for now, but the presence of heretic Astartes is confirmed. We are holding on, over."

The Cardinal was about to give his opinion and advice.to Loisy, when the governor raised his hand to cut him short.

The vox was on, it was Von Gaussenberg, transmitting the new that, in fact, they were no just fighting for their lives but actually repelled the first wave.

"Gerbille, this is Panthère Alpha. Well done, report when assaults resume, sending of reinforcements is being discuss. Read back, over.".

Loisy waited for the administrator to read back, staying totally impassible and professional, looking at the Cardinal.

"We need to send a sororitas complement. We can slow them down up there some more for relatively small expeditures of forces."

Cardinal Richemont gulped, and then mopped the sweat from his brow. Now was not the time to worry about resources and such. The threat was existential. That said, he did not want the spaceport to become the focal point of the battle, but without it no help was going to arrive.

He didn't bother with the niceties of military Vox protocol this time.

"Of course, we will need to hold the docks as it is our only offensive space capability, and we need to maintain the void shields or the battle is over. Those jobs are well-suited to any Sisters that remain locally. All other regions are secondary for the moment. The spaceport will have to fend for itself.

There is nothing we can do about the warp portals but pray and have faith. Astartes and Demons can make break-throughs, but they can not hold ground long-term. I recommend that the Bishop and his staff get on the public Vox network and broadcast motivation around the clock.

I will personally go to the Void Shield generators and rally the troops there. The sight of the "Demon-slayer" with them will hearten them to resist harder.

Have we had any contact with Mechandrite and his house troops?"

This was not the kind of thing that the Cardinal was comfortable with. His place was in moving things around in the background, not on the front-line. However, he knew that their best weapon was the faith of the people and their willingness to fight on.

He put his hand on his sword, it was a much more functional one than the one he had desperately ripped from the wall those decades ago. However, he was starting to rue the day he got the "Demon-slayer" nickname.

Loisy seemed shocked for a moment.

"You're right, where in the Warp is Mechadandrite, he hasn't shown up to any strategical meeting nor given sign of life. I'll try to contact it. Meanwhile, Cardinal, if faith and élan are our only protections, then I trust your aptitude with words to make sure our boots on the ground don't lack any. Do as you said. I'm dispatching the sororitas QRF now to the docks."

Minutes later, Loisy was desperately trying to get in touch with Mecadenrite, as his troops too would be direly needed...

PDF Headquarters

An officer chimed in with the latest report.

"Welcome news Governor. Ad Mech Skitaari are counter attacking aggressively against main arch enemy advances in the Hive. They've punched a hold straight through their lines and are en route to relive the space port."


Mechandrite cuts through the vox traffic:

"Vox relay stations boosted, improving communication. Size and composition of attacking forces manageable so far."

The unexpected and successful counter attack created an opportunity for the Governor and the Cardinal.


Relief forces could now be shuttled up via the space port and attempt to join the space dock defenders, but the enemy attack was far from over and several critical installations inside the city were still under attack. Any relief forces wouldn't be able to assist the defenders in these other ongoing battles...

[Decision time!]

The Cardinal had already left to join the efforts in the shield defence operation, and Loisy was the only one to hear the Magos answer. He smiled, and confirmed the order: send the Sororitas QRF force towards von Gaussenberg... with a special cargo to make sure they go out in a fiery and coslty way in the end, should they be overrun - which was bound to happen. But as the docks were so vital, there was no doubt that the ennemy had no other choice but to press onwards to get the docks at last and rush more troops in, and thus, this little help should actually be a profitable operation in the grander attrition.

After a few hours pause, the attack began again, this time in conjunction with a handful of newly arrived boarding torpedoes that had attached themselves to sections of the station that lay behind the secondary defensive line.

The heretic marines attacked swiftly and were utterly ruthless. In the span of less than an hour, Gaussenberg watched as the various Bronthian and PDF icons on the tactical viewer went silent.

However, before the attackers could take the remainder of the station, two newly arrived shuttles containing small groups of Sisters of Battle were able to dock and board the station. Their subsequent rapid counter attack led to the formation of a very small last line of defense, which contained the command center, and a few other critical station components.

Still, the defenders were clearly outnumbered and surrounded by the heretic marines now.

The Sisters were a welcome addition, but it didn't seem like they would be nearly enough to hold the docks...

The Void Shield Generators

Battle Result: Tie! Six successes for each side but the Cardinal did NOT have to burn a wrath point.

The Cardinal gave a rousing speech and with the help of the servo skulls accompanying him it was amplified across the Ministorum defenders. Everyone remembered the deamon slayer had earned that title for a reason, and it renewed the defender's sense of purpose.

They were opposed by a force comprised almost entirely of demons. The most hideous, evil looking devious things imaginable. Blessed Bolter fire, the purifying fires of the flamers and rightous swords set against the sharp teeth and claws of an enemy of pure evil.

And yet for every demon that appeared to be slain, two more appeared to take their place, whereas each Sister that fell in battle could not be so easily replaced. The Sisters held...and held...and held some more. But with each passing hour the defenders looked a little more wary, more fatigued, and less in number, whereas the enemy horde continued.

This left the Colonel in a precarious position.

His own PDF and Bronthians were in the midst of fighting their own battles. His forces had taken loses, but for the most part were holding out. Still...some reinforcements could be spared while still leaving ample reserves to protect his own forces.

Both of his rivals were in danger of being wiped out. He had enough reinforcements to assist one. Who would it be?

[Louise choice. Reinforce the Cardinal or Gaussenberg? Or neither? LOL]

[Cardinal and Gaussenberg Choice. Attempt to run, or stay in the fight!]

von Gaussenberg and the Space Docks Crew clung on to the station with all the might they could muster, fighting corridor by corridor, room by room. But against the overwhelmning might before them it seemed pretty pointless. Still he tried to tell himself that binding a considerable force up here, helped in the grander scheme of things.
His general plan to blow up the station, should it fall still stood, but began to look a bit difficult with every passing minute. The heretics had taken most of the station and would likely try to sever his control over the reactors. They also would likely withdraw some of their forces when it became obvious, that the defenders dwindled, diminishing the losses they could inflict by detonating the station.

Von Gaussenberg checked again, if there was any sign of the Navy coming to their help, mostly to calculate if the wiser call of action would be to hold the dock at all costs or to use it to kill as many heretics as possible. If there was no relief in sight, the spacestation was lost anyway, blown to bits as act of defiance by the enemy. So in this way he put all his ability into finding the exact right moment to use what little control they still had to make the best of it. Ideally they would keep the heretic astartes occupied as long as they could, detonating the stations reactor just before they started to pull back their forces. If by then they still had a chance to reach one of the shuttles the Sororitas came in, he would try to evacuate some of the loyalists in the priority of: 1. Sororitas that were still fit enough to make a difference on world 2. essential technicians 3. Everyone else

Gaussenberg, was able to confirm that Captain Summers and the Lunar Class Cruiser, the Rightous, along with four system defense ships were still around one day away from reaching the planet.

That would be more than enough ships to relieve the defenders. However, until that happened, the arch enemy enjoyed orbital dominance via it's own powerful Devastation class cruiser which was now very close to entering low orbit and if any ground based planetary defense installations were compromised, it would be able to inflict serious damage on the surface.

The next 24 hours would be critical for the outcome of this war.


The planet's leader would have to think critically to make the right decisions. The arch enemy didn't have the assets to take and occupy the planet, so what was their objective? Inflict as much destruction as possible? Steal the salvaged cruiser from under your noses? Or something else?

Loisy was processing report after reports and trying to send down orders to all almost in real time. He now looked like a zomebie, having slept maybe 3 to 4 hours over the last days at most, kept up and running by the sole adrenaline pumping in his veins, truly embracing the relief that warfare was to his mind. In his parallel state, all politics, governorship, and otherwise have been replaced by that only thought: win the war. It repeated endlessly, win the war.

His mind was suddenly fixed on the fleet ETA given by von Gaussenberg. One day... One only day... Maybe with yet more troops, they could hold. But this would mean that some troops down there would have got to be disengaged and again shuttled away towards the station...

"Sir, artillery battalions report that they finally managed to crack open all of their ammo stocks, and they are ready to deploy and provide support". Boucher had came rushing into the room but Loisy's attention was so far away that he didn't even notice it.

But a plan formed in his mind.

"Boucher, find all pockets of resistance outside the city that might be equipped with heavy lasweaponry or hellguns. They are useless anyway in the plains now. The artillery battalions are to box barrage the enemy at the approach of valkyries, board them, and speed towards the decks. It can be held yet. When this transfer is ended, all artillery battalions are to carpet barrage the perimeters arounds the voidshield generators.

Go now".

He then voxed the Magos "Esteemed Magos, I need your troops to make junction with the Cardinals sororitas at the void shield generators and reinforce them. Halt the counter attack and cut through the enemy to that intend. we need to hold the void shields as well while I redirect all reinforcments I can scrap to the docks under the cover of artillery. Artillery battalion Astérix is tasked with providing you covering fire to help you break away. Relay them your coordinates.".

Mechadenrite, acknowledging that the Colonel probably knew what he was doing, went, and Loisy, having recieved confirmation from both he and the artillery, had the cardinal voxed to inform hil that while mechadendrite will try to break towards him, for now, he'll have to hold on its own, as according to the fleet ETA, something could yet be done to prevent the lost of the scavenged ships and the dockyards. Artillery support should be available to him circa 8 to 12 hours, when the transfer operation will be finished.".

In his frenzy, Loisy didn't even consider that he was, in a way, antagonising the cardinal further, leaving him on his own for what would feel like forever. But he was in war fueled mode, and couldn't care less; as he read the next report to be dealt with...

Battle Results

Colonel vs Chaos: Colonel scores 6 successes (burns 1 wrath) and Chaos scores 3 successes.

Cardinal vs Chaos: Cardinal scores 8 successes (burns 1 wrath) to Chaos scoring 4 successes + 1 Glory.

Gaussenberg vs Chaos: He uses the Cardinal's glory + an extra dice from the Colonel to score 4 successes, tying with Chaos's 4 successes.

On the ground outside the Hive, the Colonel's leadership proved to be effective, and the complex maneuvers were executed without too many setbacks and delays. Once the reinforcements were en route to the orbital docks, the Valkyries were attacked by a wing of Chaos fighter aircraft and a massive air battle broke out in the skies. Fortunately, a squadron of Thunderbolt fighters intervened, and as a result most of the valkyries survived the encounter and were able to power their way to low orbit.

The battles outside the hive at the various military bases and outer shrines were still ongoing though, and some areas had fallen into enemy hands. As a result the Colonel's advisors advised against sending any more reinforcements to the Hive or Dockyards until the outer regions had stabilized.

In the Battle for the Void Generators, the Sisters of Battles turned the battle around and utterly annihilated the demon host even before the Skitaari of the Adeptus Mechanicus or the Colonel's promised artillery barrage arrived. Word spread throughout the defenders that at one point in the Battle, Saint Celeste appeared and annihilated a large part of the demon host single handedly before disappearing herself. The Cardinal didn't see much of the battle though as he was in the rear guard but many in the Ministorum immediately attributed the miracle to the fervent prayers of the Cardinal.

As a result, the enemy attack on the Hive was all but over, though there were rumors abound that some traitor astartes had slaughtered the defenders of the Cathedral, looted many sacred relics from the cathedral, and had fled beneath the underhive.

On the Orbital Docks, several additional squads of PDF Soldiers arrived at the station via Valkyrie transport and immediately began counter attacking enemy positions. Once that happened, the last surviving Sisters of Battle joined in the counter attack. The attacks were marginally successful, and the enemy was forced to cede some ground to the defenders, though casualties were heavy on both sides and the defenders were quick to mine sections of the station with melta bombs which resulted in several sections of the station losing pressurization and atmospheric integrity. However the battle was seeming slightly less dire now, and had more or less settled into a stalemate.

One of the Tech Priests though presented an idea to Gaussenberg. "The enemy cruiser will enter our line of sight in 2.35 hours. If we could coordinate with the orbital missile and lance silos, I could potentially power up the lance of the salvaged cruiser. Combined with the defense silos, we have a chance to puncture the enemy cruiser's void shields and inflict damage. Of course...I would fully expect the cruiser to return fire...and our own void shields could not be sustained if we re-route power. However, the cruiser could shoot at us regardless of what we do anyway. It is your decision to make my Lord."

Loisy quickly voxed the Cardinal to congratulate him for the effective resistance- something no one would ever have imagined, and had word go to the Sororitas that they had served the emperor well today.

But with the spine of the enemy assault broken in the hive, Loisy was not yet victorious. It remained a serious side danger that the Hive would end up being encircled and vulnerable to a two prongs attacked from beneath and outside if the chaos forces were allowed to tear apart the net of surviving pockets of resistance that surprisingly remained outside of the city.

Without delay he ordered the Sisters to remains in the city and start patrolling to engage any leftover elements, while the bronthians received order to march out of the city along 2 armoured groupings of the PDF, and to spearhead the assault outside the city as a relief force. The Valkyries that made it back from orbit were repurposed as an emergency extraction group if more soldiers became needed in the Hive.

The Bronthians acknowledged and went, however, it was obvious that they had paid a tremendous price and the formation would no longer be a regiment after this engagement... Pity, but, Loisy thought, this is what they're made for - his regiment was butchered as well by those emperor damned half xeno mutants... He shook his head. No Loisy, this war is not over, there are still enemies to cull and sacrifices to be made.

"Panthère Alpha, over".

Von Gaussenberg is quite surprised that he is still alive and the defenders still managed to hold the station. Something he had to thank the relief forces Loisy managed to send up. To be honest he would likely not have done the same if it had been his call, judging that the dock was done and it was not worth it throwing reinforcements after a lost cause, but right now he was thankful to have been wrong in this regard and that the General made the call.

He nodded to the Tech Priest "Yes, prepare everything accordingly. We will try and take the shot. If they fire back when our void shields are down, they would kill their own boarding parties..." which should sound encouraging for the defenders, implying the enemy would not happily fire on their own. For himself von Gaussenberg fully expected them to not hold back, but if the cruiser wanted to do his work for him, why not. His own plans an hour ago would have them all die together anyway. "how fast can the void shields be online again, after the shot? Can we maybe limit it to only the command center and the most dense pockets of our resistance? Maybe that could speed things up a little bit."
He opens an encrypted link to the surface, still somewhat suspicious if the enemy already cracked their codes. "Panthere Alpha, here Gerbile. We won back the station. Everything according to plan, so prepare the amasec to celebrate. Do you remember the game we played after our last round of regicide? Remember the last move I did before you won? Let's have another round sometime. Maybe 15:27, after the next council meeting?"
Loisy knew all to well that the fight for the docks was far from over and that Gaussenberg was none for overenthusiastic optimism, so hopefully he got that this was a crude code. The game they had played was some fleet simulation using little imperial ship models and his last move had been a lance strike. And the time he called was the one the Techpriest gave him and not their usual meeting time.
Another thing bothered the Administrator and he called it down to Loisy and the Cardinal if possible "Something is very foul here. The enemy doesn't act sensible. If they wanted the docks, they could have focussed on them and already have them before starting the ground offensive. And if they wanted to conquer ground, they might as well have blown us to bits and focussed on the offensive there. Our Navy is inbound and their raiders lost, so staying here means they still think they can achieve their objectives. Which means it's nothing simple like just getting the cruiser or plundering. I suspect they have some high value target on ground. Maybe steal something incredibly valuable to them, kill someone of utmost importance or prepare some kind of dark ritual. Try thinking outside of a strictly military mindset, 'cause what is going on here isn't just a normal war..."

Loisy blinked "Gerbille, this is Panthère Alpha, Say again after amasec, over".

He listened closely, but he didn't quite catch it as it was. He rattled his brain to understand, and tried a counter-question to elaborate further, the calm and professional kind of question he asked when, in a game, he witnessed a bold move from the opponent.

"Gerbille, is that your last word? Over. ". The Boldest move Von Gaussenberg ever pulled of in one of their games was to declare an almost suicidal lance battery strike, that left King ship vulnerable to a boarding counter attack he launched after all voidshields were depleted as per the quite realistic game rules. If this was his last word then, that could mean he had decided to take a shot at the ennemy vessel using the scavanged ship that laid in the docks.

Loisy was thinking hard in the seconds that separated this question from its answer. Should he try to talk him out of this folly? On the other hand, as long as the vessel was still in orbit, she could deliver pin point orbital strikes down below and utterly annihilate the counter attack he was making to break the outer pressure, around the hive, and thus destroy one of the axis of assault the ennemy would have. On the other hand, they possibly couldn't risk the chaos vessel firing back and now annihilating.what he they managed to save from destruction.

But with the confirmation from Gausse'beg that this was his last move, the sky lit and light even whitened all optics in the room for a moment as a tremendous amount of energy blazed from the docks towards the looming chaos vessel. It was too late, it had been done anyway, and Loisy truly hoped that this wouldn't come back to bite them in the hours to come.

For the first time since this all mess began, he felt worried that something was slipping, that he maybe hadn't got as much control over this as he thought. Because Von Gaussenberg was right. Something didn't make sense at all. And this realisation was a sand grain to jam the Colonel's machine of a military mind and big him down for a few minutes.

Hopefully, his trusted advisor, Boucher, was nearby, and jumped at his commander.

"Sir, is something not right? Call a medic".

It was it. Apparently, Loisy had broken under pressure at long last, realising that he had possibly failed to actually prevent chaos from winning when this report flashed again on the screens before his wary eyes: they stole relics from the shrines, and they left... This made no military sense. And somehow, he felt guilty about not being able to see it. He wondered if the Munistorum could be at fault here, not doing their duty of warning him of this peculiar perils? Or maybe, someone in his entourage had deciphered and said nothing? He was being overwhelmed by visions and voices from his nightmares, making fun of him, calling him a blind, sorry fool, pointing the disaster at him in hybrid cultist form, as a crowd accusing him.
Younger Boucher knew better. He recognised the signs of his commander crumbling, and took immediate action before it was too late. He had all people in the room left, and caught Loisy by the uniform to lift him up. He made it clear to him: the war was on, it was not the time to fail, and if he was about to, Boucher would have to throw him out and take up command, in front of everyone, and in front of the Cardinal's representatives. Is that what he wanted? The play in the Cardinal hands by showing himself as a feeble madman?

Boucher threw Loisy back into his sit, took the stills the medicae had provided for such a case, and injected it into the shocked governor's shoulder. A few minutes later, Loisy had got a hold of himself and was back into the fray...

Boucher grabbed the vox, and relayed Von Gaussenberg's doubts to the Cardinal.

"Gerbille, this is Panthère Alpha. Need to consort with Carabosse. Over."....

Battle for Outer Reaches Loiuse 8 successes vs Chaos 3.

Orbital defense vs Chaos Cruiser. Gaussenberg 2 to Chaos 3.

The Battle for the Outer reaches occurred at the end of the final day of the war. The chaos horde of heretic astartes, traitors and deamons found themselves trapped between the PDF Defenders, and reinforcements that poured out of the hive. It quickly turned into a massacre as massive artillery and air strikes bombed the horde into oblivion.

Loise may have been at PDF headquarters but he could still hearing the cheering from across the vox channels. All the officers at HQ were clapping and congratulating each other. There was even talk of breaking open a bottle of Amasec. Today had seen incredible victories for the Imperial defenders. In spite of great odds, the Emperor's forces had prevailed...

But the Chaos gods would not be denied their vengeance...

Orbital Dockyards...

An officer in the command center reported information in real time.

"Charging up the lance shot now. Coinciding with missile silo Alpha 1. And..executing."

Out of the view port, the command staff could visibly see a small flicker of light in the distance. The lance strike and missiles had found their target it had seemed.

"Assessing damage...assessing."

A warning siren echoed throughout the chamber.

"No damage beyond the shields. Repeat, strike was ineffective." "Emperor help us."

"Contact, two Infidel Raiders are coming about. They're launching torpedoes...turrets are off line. 30 seconds to impact!"

Around the time of the torpedo impact, the cruiser unleashed a punishing bombardment on the unshielded Imperial Guard forces thsat were in the process of celebrating their victory. The losses inflicted were significant, maybe a third of the total forces, but it could have been worse as much of the bombardment hit sparesly inhabited areas of the planet far from the field of battle."

Then the enemy cruiser broke into high orbit, just as several small craft returned from the surface and landed in the attack craft bays.

The torpedoes crashed into the station and for Gaussenberg everything went black and silent...

PDF Headquarters:

"Enemy cruiser is breaking for high orbit. Naval reinforcements are only an hour away. They're retreating. We've won sir we've won."

"Still no contact from the orbital dockyards. It's orbit remains stable but it's taken heavy damage."

And then the massive array of melta bombs placed under the HQ building went off...

Loise would feel the floor give way underneath him and everything went black as he found himself falling..and falling deep into the bowls of the underhive, chased by mounds of falling rockcrete and the corpses of his PDF comrads.

24 Hours Later: The Aftermath

The Cardinal

The Cardinal finds himself wherever he sees fit to comfortably govern in the aftermath of the war.

The Colonel and Gaussenberg were oficially missing and very likely dead, so nearly all of the power players on the world, along with various Imperial Officials, Captain Summers, Mechandrite, and Munitorium Representatives were looking to him for leadership as the world set about rebuilding.

One of the Cardinal's servitors provided updates on the events of the day.

-Search and rescue efforts to locate the Colonel continuing, some survivors of the PDF HQ bombing found, but so far nothing on the Colonel.

-The Imperial Navy is set to begin search and rescue operations on the station later today but they are not expecting to find any survivors.

-The head Palatine of the local Order of the Sisters of Battle, Sister Elizabeth, is scheduled to meet with you later today at the Cathedral.


-The war is being heralded as a spectacular victory for the Imperium as the world survived a massive surprise attack while sustaining very limited damage to lives and infrastructure, though the ransacking of the Cathedral has led to some voices of discontent with the Ecclesiarchy as it was the Cardinal's order for the Sisters of Battle to focus on defending the Outer Shrines at the expense of the Cathedral.


The Underhive:

[Colonel starts with max wounds but a traumatic injury to left leg. The leg is un-usable until augmetic surgery is completed. All equipment missing]

The Colonel awoke in a simple cott, in what appeared to be a dimly lit shed made from scrap. His body was in utter agony, and when he tried to move his left leg, it wouldn't move.

A man and a woman are sitting on chairs in the squalid hut. One is scrolling through a data slate, and the other is sipping a cup of recaff. They appear in ragged clothing, but wear blue bandanas around their left arms and sport similar skull tattoos. They are also sporting some wicked looking knives and autopistols. Likely Hive Gangers.


The woman notices Loiuse wake up and brings him a cup of water, holding it out for him to drink. "Hey Brick" she gestures to the man. "The guy's awake."

She looks back to Louise. "Take it easy old man. Your body has been through a lot of trauma. Good thing we found you when yah did."

Brick nods. "Yeah well...since we figured your some rich guy from up hive, we knew there'd be profit in it."

The woman nods. "True, the power refractor was a nice pay off, even if no one gonna pay up to get him back, twas probably worth it."

The woman looks at Louise again. "I'm Ava, an this me boss Brick. Who are you?"

The Orbital Docks

[Gaussenberg starts with max woudns but traumatic injury, non functioning right arm]

Gaussenberg also awakens to enormous pain, and he can't move his right arm, likely broken at best. The command center is lit only by a single emergency light. No one in the room moves. It looks like everyone is dead.

A servo skull floats up to him.

"Station status critical. Numerous hull breaches. Reactor leaking plasma. Attempting to maintain orbital velocity. Communication offline. Advise you to abandon station." "Nearby void suit in locker B" It flashes a laser toward a supply locker.


[Sister Elizabeth Image] https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/a/ab/Sister_Piety.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140804141143

Von Gaussenberg groans, clutching his broken and battered arm, taking in his surroundings through partly clouded vision. He rubs some sweat of his brow, only then realizing that it is blood. It seems he indeed still isn't quite dead - a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
Slowly he starts to drift towards the locker the servoskull pointed him to, the artificial gravit being offline. Here and there he has to navigate around floating corpses and debris, or kick it away, often flinging him offcourse due to Newtons law of reciprocal force. The trip to the void suit seemed to take ages.

Finally processing some of what the Servoskull said, he asks it "Hull breaches secondary for now, can anything be done from on station to stabilize the orbital velocity and stop the reactors from leaking? If not, can the reactor be ejected and exploded in a safe distance to ride the shockwave to a stable orbit?" Hopefully the machines processors were still able to assist. Von Gaussenberg was old and he felt it now more then ever. He did not really see a meaningful way to make it to the surface alive, but he might still make a difference up here, even if he was the lone survivor.

Cardinal Richemont was in charge now.... and he didn't like it that much. His methods were to stand behind the most powerful and watch from over their shoulder, and whisper in their ear. He was a power behind the throne, so when someone else took a shot at the top spot, he was out of the line of fire.

A massive assortment of courtiers from the Church, the Ad-mech, the Arbites, the Administratum, and more were swarming around him as he slowly trod up the stairway of the blasted and badly damaged cathedral of St. Bonafactius.

He answered as many questions as he could, and tried to give clear directions, his head spinning from it all. Or maybe it was fatigue from the fight? Or possible a concussion from being too close to a blast?

"We need to make sure the supply lines from the agricultural areas are cleared. We need food moving into the hive now. If people can not eat, the peace will not hold."

A bruised Bishop approached and half-dazed look in his eyes, he croaked out a report about the state of the Cathedral. The Cardinal nodded, and told him to follow him into the inner sanctum and privacy from the masses. Only Sister Elizabeth was with them.

The Cardinal's voice croaked from over-use, " I need to know three things right now:

One. Where are the others? Mechandrite, Governor Loisy, Adept Von Gaussenberg, the Arbites Judge? The Choirmaster? Who is dead and who is missing? Who can we find?

Two. Is the orbital docks safe. or is there a danger of it crashing down on us?

Three. I heard some of the priests prattling about lost artifacts and heretics on this holy ground. What did they take?"

Guilles fell down into a chair, the exhaustion starting to catch-up to him. His sword scabbard caught awkwardly as he tumbled and caused him to almost miss the chair.

"Sister Elizabeth, I thank you and your Order for a great service. Pray, can you help the Arbites and Enforcers secure the streets and root out any remnants?"

The Cardinal turned back to the Bishop, " I have a feeling we are going to miss out tithe deadline......".

There would be questions. Many, many questions. There would be precious few answers. With that, exhaustion finely got to him and he fell asleep.

Loisy groaned, partly with rage, partly with pain.

He had lived by brute force and courage, he would go down.the same. He stood as best he could on his only leg, balancing himself on the couch.

"You have got a worthy price indeed. Governor Loisy himself." If he died or if he was exchanged as an hostage, he didn't know. Nor did he care. He was as good as dead now. He had no idea if he even won his war in the end, didn't now if his pal Von Gaussenberg was still alive, nor Boucher. He probably had failed. And the fears and nightmares that plagued him were becoming too much to endure anyhow. He almost wanted to go down here, leaving behind the fame of a hero and the statuesque charisma he sported. He hoped that when that lasbolt caught his head, his hard work turning this, HIS newfound home would not be lost and his legacy co.tinue.for.the betterment of this colony and the Imperium. He cursed the Cardinal who had spawned that under hive, and stood still, almost defiant in spite of his injuries, his stature imposing even in his dreadful state...

"Kill me now and exact vengeance, or trade me, the choice is yours. I am not afraid."

He prayed the Emperor for his good graces, hoped he had been a worthy servant, and prepared to suffer and die.

The Orbital Dockyards

The servo skull whirls and groans before answering, performing innumerable cogitations.

"Probability of reactor core overload in next 24 hours...25.7%. Probability of loss of thruster control due to power loss in 24 hours...75.2%."

"Solution...calculating."

"I can guide you to welding kit and guide you to the reactor. Some, simple repairs might seal breach. Lethal radiation expected, even with void suit."

"Alternative...I can attempt guide you to nearest escape pod. Increase your immediate survivability beyond 0%."

The Underhive

Ava and Brick didn't look surprised to hear the Colonel's pronouncement. They even smirked a bit.

"Governor...we have a Governor?" Brick asked Ava in a heavy sarcastic voice.

"Aye, Ava nodded. I think he's the one always trying to kill us off an make our lives harder and what not."

"I bet he's rich though." Brick mused.

Ava snickered. "Aye, but I also reckon he's got lot's of enemies. Might be a bit of a risk trying to get him Up Hive."

Brick nodded. "Well yeah, but we've sort of been down on our luck since we found im, so maybe the risk is worth it...assuming he's tellin us the truth."

Brick turns to Louise and folds his arms. "We might be able to get yah up hive, but it'll be a risk on our part. So other than the refractor field, and the las pistol, which, the way I seez it, is propah payment for our current hospitality, what else can yah give us as payment?"

The Cathedral

Seething crowds of the distressed faithful swarmed through the ruins of the Cathedral as servitor teams frantically worked to clear away debris and paint over the many obscenities and profane graffiti that the heretics had left behind.

A gaggle of enforcers and even a few Arbites nominally stood guard, while swarms of clerks, friars, and clerics pressed in around the Cardinal, providing him with the latest information on the recovery efforts.

"Gaussenberg and Louise...presumed dead sir but no bodies have been found. It will be at least a day before the Navy is even ready to board the docks and they are still finding bodies in the rubble of the PDF HQ. "

"Fear not Cardinal...if the dock can be maintained than the salvaged cruiser is saved. That should provide for a deferment in the Tithe. The Imperium owes us a great debt after a great victory."

"It was not a great victory." Sister Elizabeth cut in, flanked by more than a score of the Adeptus Sororitas.

"So many Sacred relics, the bones of our most revered Saints, Holy Rosarios, all stolen by the Arch Enemy and taken aboard their cruiser. And all because of the greed of one man."

It may have taken a moment but soon every realized whom she was talking about. After she pointed her chainsword at the Cardinal...everyone absolutely knew who she was talking about.

"Cardinal. You gave the order for my Sisters to Defend the Outer Shrines, where your own prized agri zones were near. And because of that negligence, our sacred Cathedral was left under protected. And...they were able to do so much damage." It looked she was very distraught, caught between crying and executing the Cardinal on the spot. "All because you put your personal wealth above defending the Holiest place on our world."

"So Cardinal, please tell my Sisters. What will your public penance be for your sin? How will you repent for what you have done, so that our faith in you can be restored?"

Loisy was not impressed in the slightest. And that showed through. He took his lecknace on which his id plates where tied. "Is that proof enough?"

The both of them made a step backwards in awe. Now, they had caught a big fish!

"As to what I can offer? Something beyond you're wildest dreams. Good life."

Ava and Brick's eyes lit. "Three meals a day, safety, warm and cosy couches, purpose in life, salary. I've offered this a million men already, and I can offer it to you as well, forgetting your past crimes as I, as a governor, may give amnisty as I see feat in rendering judgement. Take me up, and I'll take you up with me. Is that good repayment enough?".

Of course, there is one thing he wouldn't tell, albeit all that he spoke was true through and through. It was that someday, paranoia might take back his hold on him, and he will cut their throats. But that day was apparently not today.

While von Gaussenberg slips into the void suit in an awkward motion due to his broken arm he considers his options. But in a strange way the choice doesn't seem that difficult to him. He was old... really old. And more importantly he felt it, felt tired, so unbelievably tired. With a clarity he hadn't for decades he realized that a live spent in the service of the Imperium had kind of turned into waiting for the end. And thinking about it, going down doing something important instead of hanging around waiting sounded... nice.

He floated in zero gravity for some moments taking a look at the destruction and the dead bodies floating around him. Had it been a mistake to call the shot at the cruiser? Would it have retreated anyway and keeping the void shield up have saved the lives of all these brave men and women on the station? He would never know. It had seemed right at the moment. In some way the thought strengthened his resolve - he owed it to them to not flee but stay and make their sacrifice count.

"Guide me to that wielding set." He coughed painfully "Are there any other survivors?" He considered for a Moment as the pain from his cough faded away all too slowly, realizing that while he did not fear death, he did fear dying painfully. "Are there any anaestetics on board that you could bring me after the repairs are finished?" Maybe he could at least make his way to the golden throne a little easier.

The little Servo wasn't aware of any survivors, which didn't surprise Gaussenberg too much, but it gave him an optimistic 37% chance that it might get some morphine from the sick bay after they did the repairs which gave him some hope.

After listening intently to its instructions, asking all questions he could think of and making notes, von Gaussenberg adressed it again "Make a record, please..." what followed was a report of what had transpired on the station - but a rather heroic version of the truth to be honest. Von Gaussenberg highlighted the heroism of the stations crew, mere civilians that took up their tools as crude weapons and not only stared down the face of humanities worst nightmares but even held the line. Until they were delivered by the holy Sisters of him on earth, bringing the emperors light and turning the tide against the abominations. And finally the brave soldiers of the PDF bringing the fight to the enemy and driving them from the station.

Edit: He allowed himself one little vanity though, making the recording in front of the background of the reactor door, alarms blaring and warning signs flashing "do not enter, deadly radiation", while he obviously put on his suit and prepared to enter it for repairs - he might as well let them know what he was about to do. "I saw to live 187 years, but it was the proudest moment of my life to fight in the side of these heroes, these pinnacles of humanities spirit. They rest at the emperors table now, looking down at the world they gave their lives to protect. Sons and daughters of Bonifatius Reach, soldiers, priests, commonfolk. Remember their sacrifice and honor it. Remember that only together can we fight the darkness encroaching on us, raging against the dying of the light. Hold fast and bury your grudges, build the glorious future we died to protect TOGETHER, for the emperor and humanity."

He wasn't the best speaker, but he hoped this would make a small difference. With that he sighed and nodded to the Servo Skull "Ok, it won't get any better, so lets get this over with." Putting down his vizor and opening the hatch to the reactor room.

Cardinal Richemont was taken aback by Sister Elizabeth's accusation. He expected there to be questions about his choices, his conduct in the war.

"Sister Elizabeth, I recognize your distress and offer you the Emperor's blessing. Seek his comfort in this moment of tragedy," Guilles made the sign of the Aquilla, his voice low for only the Sister and those nearby to hear.

'No decision in His Name can be made without sacrifice. I therefore, made a difficult choice. One I will not apologize for to you. The Emperor will judge me."

Now the Cardinal projected his voice for all in the ruined hall to hear him

"The Cathedral was within the HIve. The Hive was defended by our gallant PDF and the brave Brontian regiment. Who would think that would not be enough? It was the most powerful fighting force on the planet, and raised to protect St. Bonafactius Reach and to crusade in the Name of the Emperor. Please, do not cast aspersions on their fighting prowess. They have all paid a heavy price."

The Cardinal was tapping into all the Oratory skills and forms of rhetoric he had been taught, knowing that he had to dispel this seed of doubt before it bloomed into a flower of revolt.

"You are a warrior Sister. Therefore, you know that guns and armor are no protection against an empty belly. Without food, there can be no resistance. Wars are not won by killing the enemy, they are won by sustaining your own troops in the field. Without protecting our food supplies, there would be no victory. There would be no recovery."

Now, it was time for his big finish, the cresecendo that would either unite those around him or cause his own fall from grace,

"The Emperor expects us to protect Humanity! Not relics. The people can not eat the bones of the Saints, or Rosaries, or sacred texts!" Food is what fuels the Emperor's divine plan and food is the foundation of Faith. Take and eat, for it is his body and spirit given to you."

The Cardinal dropped his voice down to a harsh whisper, for those close by, "Now, what penance are you offering ME for YOUR petulance? For YOUR threat to the recovery of the Emperor's divine realm? For YOUR anguished attempt to sow discord amongst His holy followers? For YOUR shirking of your holy duty before the masses? "

The Fate of the Colonel

Brick and Ava paused for a long moment, then looked at eachother.

Finally Brick offered a little nod. "Sounds like a good deal. We'll take it."

Soon enough the Colonel found himself being put into a motorized wheel chair with tank like treads, and wheeled out into a ramshackle settlement in the deep recesses of the underhive.

When they all came together, ten moderately armed gangers were geared up and ready to set out.

Brick addressed the crew. "Right, this is gonna be the big pay day. We got ta get this fancy Noble Up Hive. Probably gonna be fair amount of dangers along the way. But the pay off should be a good one."

Meanwhile...beyond anyone's sight, in a tunnel beyond the reach of the settlement, a six armed creature looked out at its prey. It thought little beyond the basic need to infect...and tear, and claw, and destroy. But something in it's consciousness informed it, that the Colonel and his enotourage was indeed it's prey. And it would not be denied.

The Genestealer watched...and waited.

The Fate of Gaussenberg


Gaussenberg died believing that he had saved the orbital docks and the salvaged cruiser. He died believing that he had saved the world that he had been so instrumental in building.

In reality...the Navy Breachers would have arrived in time to make the repairs themselves. Everything would have been saved anyway, and his final sacrifice had been in vain. If only some form of communication was possible, the tragic fate of Gaussenberg would have been prevented. But the universe was a cold and uncaring place. Tragedy it seemed, was unavoidable for most...even among the privileged.

Nevertheless the legacy of Gaussenberg would live on through his successor, "Young Gaussenberg," and the institutions he had built up over decades. Indeed the legend of Gaussenberg was destined to quickly become even larger than the man himself. So in many ways, it was said that Gaussenberg endured a Good Fate.

The Fate of the Cardinal

The Cardinal was unmatched in charisma and rhetoric, and soon Sister Elizabeth had dropped to her knees weeping and crying. "I'm sorry my Lord. I will repent..I will do penance for this."

It was a moving moment, interrupted only by the sound of an old bearded man, a friad by the looks of it, clapping his hands. Clap...clap...clap.

Only he wasn't a friar anymore. The robes came off, and the shining holo-lith of the badge of the Inquisition lit up prominently before all.


"That was quite moving Sister Elizabeth. But, you were actually right. The arch enemy got EXACTLY what they came for. It wasn't a relic though...it was a shard of Caliban, that long forgotten homeworld of the Dark Angels Space Marines."

The man pointed to the Cardinal. "You probably don't even remember acquiring it. It was so insignificant, just another trinket picked up during one of your long pilgramiges."

"No, the Cardinal's sins are all forgivable. There is no way he would have known, or could have known how important that trinket was."

The old man then pats the Cardinal on the back.

"And don't discount your victories either. The arch enemy would have slaughtered every soul on this world if you had allowed them. So, I would say that at the end of the day, everyone did their duty, and that is all the Emperor asks of any of us."

He then turns back to Sister Elizabeth and chides her gently, the way a father would speak to a little girl. "But you should know better than to denounce your superiors. So for your penance, you will serve in my retinue, and perhaps, you can help me recover some of what was stolen."

The sister wiped her tears away and nodded. "I will serve my Lord. Thank you."

The Inquisitor nodded his head then turned back to the Cardinal. "In any case, I'll leave you to your business cardinal. I don't like to get involved in local politics. But let it be known, the eyes of the Inquisition are everywhere. And if any of you fail in your duty in any way, than the next penance I administer will be far more exacting than what I gave to this wayward sister today. The Fate of your world rests with you all. Emperor be with you.

Before the Cardinal could even ask a question the Inquisitor disappeared into the crowd with the Sister. How? It didn't make sense. But Inquisitors had their ways...

And so...the Cardinal was left to manage the aftermath of the conflict, and perhaps begin to shape the future as he saw fit.

But for now, the world turned on. It's fate...NOT yet sealed.


The END